


What it Takes to Stay

by finsouls



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, Hyejoo & Choerry are Best Friends, Hyejoo and Yerim are kids, Mild Angst with a happy ending, Single Mom Haseul, Single Mom Jinsol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finsouls/pseuds/finsouls
Summary: Jinsol chases adventures across the country with her daughter, Hyejoo, never staying too long in one place. But when they stumble into a small town, they find an adventure that changes everything.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry & Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye, Jo Haseul/Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul
Comments: 15
Kudos: 110





	What it Takes to Stay

**Author's Note:**

> This goes out to Eli, thanks for turning me into a Jinseul shipper, this ones for you. 
> 
> Thank you to her, M, and Ren for constantly listening to me go on about this oneshot for the past week. I love you all

“Hyejoo, come on! We’re gonna be late for your first day!” Jinsol yells up through the apartment to her daughter. Toast pops out of the toaster and she puts it on the plate to cover it in jam. 

“It’s just a first day, Mom,” Hyejoo says, shuffling into the kitchen. 

“And it’s a new school.” Jinsol slides the toast over to her daughter and leans on her elbows. Rosy Day School is one of the best schools in Maison, in the area in general. The tuition is no joke, but Jinsol would pay anything to make sure Hyejoo has a good education. They move around so much, the curriculums are always changing. Even though material may be repetitious, at least there is more of a challenge with a rigorous school. Jinsol is thankful her parents left her more money than she knows what to do with. 

“I’ve had plenty of new schools, too.” Hyejoo takes another big bite. “Like you always say, it’s an adventure, let it happen. Breathe, Mom, it’ll be a good day.”

“You’re too young to be trying to keep me calm,” Jinsol laughs, shaking her head at her daughter. 

“I’m eight!” Hyejoo huffs, shoving the last bit of toast into her mouth. 

“You’ll always be my little girl.” Jinsol walks around the counter and kisses her daughter on the head. “Be ready in five, I have to do some paperwork at the school.” Jinsol calls over her shoulder as she goes to grab the documents she might need. She sees Hyejoo throw herself onto the couch and turn on cartoons. 

They’re so going to be late. 

Jinsol passes through the short hallway to her room. Scarce pictures line the walls. Most are her and Hyejoo at various national parks and the most random tourist locations. The giant ball of twine in Kansas. Hole N’ the Rock in Utah. The World’s Largest Toilet in Indiana. The largest garden gnome in New York. Each picture has the mother-daughter duo smiling brightly at the camera that some tourist must be holding. Hyejoo is taller and taller in each new photograph. 

As she reaches her own room, the photos contain baby Hyejoo and eventually just Jinsol herself. Though she remembers her solo travels fondly, nothing has ever come close to comparing to the adventures she’s had with Hyejoo next to her. 

Jinsol smiles at the picture of the day Hyejoo had been born. The missing piece of Jinsol’s nomadic lifestyle. Not much has changed for her travels though. Now she has a companion, someone to enjoy the adventures in life with her. 

She grabs the documents she needs from her side table and glances at the clock. 

“Shit,” Jinsol scrambles to throw on a more appropriate outfit that isn't her pajamas and scrambles out of her room. “Hye, baby, we gotta go now.”

“But the episode is just getting to the best part,” Hyejoo whines. 

“You’ve seen that episode a million times,” Jinsol holds up Hyejoo’s backpack and sneakers. “Please, we need to go. Remember, we get ice cream after the first day. Gotta get the day over with first before you get ice cream.” 

Hyejoo’s eyes light up and Jinsol’s heart swells with love. Her daughter shuts the TV off and rushes over to put her shoes on. A minute later they’re out the door on the way to Hyejoo’s first day of third grade at a new school, though it’s not the first new school she’s attended. 

* * *

Jinsol and Hyejoo walk toward the entrance of the two-story elementary school. Other students are meandering into the building off buses and out of their parents cars. Hyejoo holds tight to Jinsol’s hand despite her facade that she’s used to this. 

“The first day is always the hardest,” Jinsol says, squeezing her daughter’s hand. Hyejoo looks up at her mom. “Just be yourself, you’ll make friends in no time.”

“What if they don’t like me?” Hyejoo worries, glancing around at the curious eyes on the new kid. “No one ever likes the new kid.”

Jinsol pulls Hyejoo to the side away from the flow of students. She takes a knee and holds Hyejoo’s hands in her own. “If they don’t like you, they’re missing out. You’re an amazing, kind-hearted, and smart person, Hyejoo. Any one of these kids would be  _ lucky _ to call you their friend. I know we do this a lot, but I know it’ll never get easier. I’m so proud of you for always being so strong, but you don’t have to be, okay? Not with me.”

“I like going on adventures with you, Mommy. I don’t want to stop,” Hyejoo scuffs her shoe on the sidewalk. “I’m just scared.” 

Jinsol’s heart breaks a little at the quiver in Hyejoo’s voice. No matter how many times they do this, Jinsol knows it takes a toll on her daughter. It’s not easy always leaving friends behind, always trying to find their place in a new town. Jinsol loves their lifestyle, she knows Hyejoo enjoys the adventures it brings them. But, it’s also lonely at times, and another new town where they don’t know anyone doesn’t make this any easier. 

“I know, baby,” Jinsol curls a piece of Hyejoo’s hair back behind her ear. “I’m scared, too. But we wouldn’t be scared if we didn’t want to do well, right? Put your best foot forward, and we can both take this new adventure in stride.”

Hyejoo puts her right foot forward with a grin. 

Jinsol laughs and copies her daughter, following their usual ritual. 

“Best foot forward,” Hyejoo repeats. 

“Alright, let’s do this thing,” Jinsol says, standing back up. Hyejoo takes her hand again and they brave the school together. 

Inside, it’s really nothing like anything Jinsol has seen at any other school before. For a small town, the building is massive. Most places the pair end up in aren’t nearly as well off as this town seems to be. Pristine white tiles line the main hall of the school. Above them, a pointed glass ceiling arches up into the sky, revealing the clouds and bright sunlight. Students mill around on couches or near the snack cart by the cafeteria doors. There’s even a ping-pong table set in front of a television broadcasting school news. A few teachers are walking around keeping an eye on the kids as they wait for the first bell. 

“Whoa,” Hyejoo breathes. 

“Seriously, am I sending you to school or a playground?” Jinsol glances around and spots the front office. It’s hard to miss considering the large letters above the pure glass wall. “Alright, the office is over there. You ready?”

Hyejoo nods, wide eyes still staring at the scene in front of them. Jinsol practically has to drag her daughter into the room. 

“Hi!” A cheery voice calls from the desk. A brunette woman with bangs sits behind the counter of a round desk. In front of her, little trinkets and a jar of candies sits. “I’m Jiwoo, you two are new faces. I can tell, I know everyone in this school. That’s kind of my job. Welcome to Rosy Day School.” 

“Jinsol Jung,” Jinsol smiles, and gestures beside her. “This is my daughter, Hyejoo—”

“Third grade, right? I remember reading your file,” Jiwoo nods to herself. She pushes her back, rolling toward a filing draw. “Hyejoo Jung, Hyejoo, Hyejoo—” 

“H-y-e-j-o-o,” Hyejoo spells and Jiwoo shoots her a megawatt smile. 

“Thank you!” Jiwoo pulls the file out not a second later. “Alright, I’ve got your schedule and teacher’s name right here.” She slides the paper over to Hyejoo. 

Behind them, the door opens, and Jiwoo looks up. 

“Good morning, Miss Jo and Yerim!” Jiwoo waves. 

“Hi Jiwoo,” a little voice calls. 

“Have a good day, Yerimie. I’ll meet you back in here,” the other voice, Jinsol assumes it’s Miss Jo. 

“Okay, bye Mommy.” 

Jinsol smiles and tunes back in to Jiwoo talking to her daughter. 

“—Kim is your teacher, you’ll love her, she’s a lot of fun. Sometimes she brings her little puppy, Pie, in to hang out with her class,” Jiwoo’s smile brightens further at Hyejoo bouncing on her toes at the thought. 

“Did you hear that, Mom? A puppy! I love this new school,” Hyejoo grins from ear to ear and Jinsol can’t help but smile back. All her worries previously about her daughter leave once again. If anyone can adapt quickly to a new situation, it’s Hyejoo. She’s a lot like Jinsol in that way. 

She reaches out and runs a hand over her daughter’s hair, “I heard, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting a dog.”

Hyejoo pouts, “One day you’ll cave.” 

An unfamiliar face pops up beside Hyejoo with bright purple hair and a smile like the sun. “Hi! Are you new? You look new, I’m Yerim.”

“Uh, y-yeah, I’m Hyejoo.” Hyejoo shifts on her feet, sliding closer to her mom. 

“Yerim, actually, would you mind showing Hyejoo to her classroom?” Jiwoo asks. Jinsol almost wants to protest, she wants to walk Hyejoo to her room, to have a few more moments with her daughter. 

For Hyejoo, it’s the hardest just to get in the building and get the ball rolling on her first day. 

For Jinsol, it’s leaving her daughter behind and going back to an empty apartment. 

She’s not used to being alone anymore, not since Hyejoo was born. Going back to a quiet apartment always leaves her feeling uneasy. Jinsol will probably go back and clean the apartment, try to work on this new article for a magazine, and figure out where they can get ice cream after school. 

“Do you have Miss Yoohyeon, too?” Yerim claps excitedly when Hyejoo nods. “Awesome! We can sit next to each other.”

Hyejoo turns to her mom and wraps her arms around her waist. “Bye Mom, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Hye. Have a good day, okay?” Jinsol smiles as Hyejoo and Yerim walk out of the office. Yerim is chatting happily, her hands moving chaotically. Hyejoo nods at what the other girl is saying, casting one last smile over her shoulder at her mom. 

Jinsol takes a deep breath and turns her attention back to Jiwoo who is waiting patiently. 

“It never gets easier letting them go,” Jiwoo’s smile turns sympathetic. 

“You have a kid?” Jinsol asks. She takes a seat at the chair near the desk. 

“I do. Chaewon. She’s a grade above Hyejoo. She keeps me on my toes,” Jiwoo laughs and shows Jinsol a picture of a cheeky little blonde girl. 

“I know what you mean,” Jinsol joins the laughter. 

“Alright, let’s get this boring paperwork over with, I’m sure you have things you need to do today,” Jiwoo casts her gaze over to the computer screen. “Let’s see, twelve schools in the past eight years, that’s a lot.”

“My job takes me all over the country,” Jinsol answers, as she always does. Jiwoo doesn’t push it. A lot of people don’t accept the answer that Jinsol doesn’t like being tied down. It’s not the kind of life people think a child should have, but her and Hyejoo do more than fine. 

“Emergency contact?”

“Just me.”

“Anyone else authorized to pick Hyejoo up?”

“Also just me.” Jinsol is used to this. All the years of fielding questions and handling their lives on her own. She barely bats an eye as they whiz through the questions and waivers. Jiwoo hands her paperwork to sign for background checks for field trips.

“All parents are required to chaperone at least one event,” she tells Jinsol. “Now for tuition, Hyejoo qualifies for scholarships based on her grades. I believe we’ve sent over the breakdown of the tuition.”

“Yes, I signed all that and placed the check in here,” Jinsol says, sliding the manila folder over to Jiwoo. 

“Perfect!” 

By the end of the paperwork, Jinsol leaves with an arm full of packets and copies of everything she had signed. The student handbook, the parent handbook, she even left with Jiwoo’s phone number. Though Jinsol is pretty sure that’s in case of a school emergency. She’s not entirely sure. 

Either way, she tosses everything on the passenger seat of her car and sighs. 

It’s only day one of the school year, but Jinsol is already itching to move on to the next place. She tries not to count down the days until it’s time to try on a new adventure. The pair only just moved to town a few weeks ago. But Jinsol long ago promised herself that she’d let her daughter have at least half a school year in the same place. 

Though, as time has gone on, Jinsol’s noticed Hyejoo gets antsy to move, too. She’s not sure if that has more to do with habit, or if Hyejoo actually looks forward to the next place. 

Jinsol wonders, like she always does, if this really is the life she wants for herself and Hyejoo. But those thoughts are abruptly cut off by the anxiety of staying in one place. 

She turns her car on and drives off the Rosy Day school property, deciding to channel her energy on finding a decent ice cream place in town. 

* * *

  
Jinsol spends her day driving through the small town, trying to get a lay of the land. It really doesn’t take more than twenty minutes to drive across the whole stretch of the town. Other than a few boutiques and a grocery store, there isn’t much to keep anyone entertained. That’s what her and Hyejoo love about small towns. It’s quiet. Quieter than the bustle of their travels that take them through the largest cities and weirdest attractions. The school year is a break for both of them, to relax a little more, but even then, Jinsol finds herself antsy to be on the move. 

It’s how she ends up at the ocean. Which, in her defense, is only a stone's throw outside of the town. Boats tied to their buoys and at the end of the docks rock with the waves. People wander up and down the street, basking in the late summer sun. Jinsol parks on a side street, and follows the scattered crowd of people toward the beach. If she can really call the small strip of sand a beach. 

She kicks off her shoes and lets her feet sink into the warm sand as she makes her way closer to the water. Waves lap gently at the shore, rising and crashing in a natural rhythm. Digging her toes into the wet sand, Jinsol stares out at the horizon. 

Last summer, her and Hyejoo spent a majority of those days on a cruise ship. They traveled for weeks through coastal towns and the sea, enjoying each new day bringing another adventure. Neither could get enough of the sunny day and foreign sights. 

Looking out at the ocean now reminds Jinsol of that freedom. Not tied down to any one place or country for more than a few days. Hyejoo’s unbridled excitement to see the next place, to find the next cheesy tourist trap. Her daughter smiled more on that trip than any other. 

Next to her, a couple walks by with ice cream cones in their hands, and she remembers what her actual goal of the day is. She’s quick to ask them where they got the ice cream, and they point her in the direction of downtown. 

It only takes her a few minutes in her car to find the ice cream parlor which is right next to a cafe. Jinsol is thankful she had the forethought to pack her laptop when she left the apartment this morning. Honestly, finding the cafe is a blessing, the last thing Jinsol wants to be right now is alone. 

The cafe is bright inside. Cool air pumps through the room, though not enough to freeze everyone out. Mismatched furniture is scattered about. Locals sitting on worn couches and at tall tables. Quiet murmurs fill the air, mixed in with the sound of grinding coffee beans and beeping ovens. Jinsol strides up to the counter to order.

“Hi, what can I get for you?” The barista asks, wiping his hands on his green apron. 

“Caramel latte,” Jinsol eyes the large cookies behind him, “and a chocolate chip cookie. Please.” 

It’s a short wait for her order before she settles into a booth at the cafe with a coffee next to her laptop and opens a doc for her article. This time she had been hired by a larger travel magazine to write about vacationing with younger children. The company had heard of her through word of mouth and had reached out, excited to hire her for a piece. Considering she’s been traveling the world with Hyejoo since she was a toddler, the magazine thought it would be great personal insight.

Jinsol only uses the money her parents left her for necessities. Everything else, all their vacations and more frivolous expenditures, Jinsol uses her own money from freelance jobs. She’s built her name up over the years that she gets plenty of work. Before Hyejoo was born, she struggled making ends meet without using her parents money. But now, she has more than enough. There isn’t anything they could want that they can’t afford, and that’s how she likes it.

“I’ve got a few hours, I can probably finish a bulk of this,” Jinsol mutters to herself. She takes a generous sip of her latte and starts writing. Maybe if she finishes enough she can spend more time with Hyejoo the rest of the week. That’s enough motivation to kick her into gear. 

* * *

The moment Hyejoo walks into the classroom, all heads turned in her direction. Murmurs rise around her, curious glances and questioning gazes follow her and Yerim through the room. Hyejoo tries to hold her head high, to put her best foot forward, just like her mom says. But the further she walks in the room, the more she shrinks behind Yerim. Which is silly because she’s taller than Yerim. 

As if noticing her discomfort, Yerim reaches for her hand and keeps pulling her through the room. Classmates greet Yerim happily, each one smiling at the sight of the purple haired girl. Hyejoo isn’t used to being dragged around by someone who is the center of attention. Most of the time, she fades into the background at school. It’s easier, after all, to leave when there is no one to leave behind. 

“Miss Yoohyeon, we have a new student,” Yerim says as they approach the teachers desk. There are small stacks of papers and a few picture frames. But what catches Hyejoo’s attention is the large Spongebob figure on the edge of the desk. 

A tall woman with blonde hair smiles down at them. “Hyejoo, right?”

“Yes, Miss.” Hyejoo smiles tentatively. 

“Yerim, why don’t you go take a seat,” Yoohyeon sends the other girl away and gives her full attention to Hyejoo. She’s shifting on her feet, eyes darting around the room. “Don’t be nervous, I just want to get an idea of what you may have been taught at other schools.” 

“A lot,” Hyejoo shrugs. “You’ll probably repeat stuff I know.” 

Yoohyeon laughs, “I’m sure I will. Let’s make a deal, okay?” 

Hyejoo frowns, “What kind of deal? My mom says not to gamble.” 

“Your mom is right, but this isn’t that kind of deal,” Yoohyeon says. “When I’m teaching you something you already know, will you let me know?”

“I guess, but why?” Hyejoo turns around, feeling eyes on her. Other kids are staring at her again. Yerim shoots her an encouraging smile. “Won’t the other kids be annoyed?”

“That’s not something you need to worry about, Hyejoo. I want to make sure you’re being challenged so you can keep growing. If I’m teaching you something you already know, wouldn’t you be bored?” 

“Yeah, but I just tune out when teachers do that,” Hyejoo says bluntly. Her eyes widen, cheek reddening when she realizes. “I mean—” 

Yoohyeon smiles endearingly at her. “I would tune me out, too, don’t worry. But is that a deal you can make?” 

Hyejoo thinks for a minute before nodding. She sticks out her pinky, “We have to pinky promise, or the deal isn’t real.” 

Yoohyeon mimics her and smiles. Hyejoo already really likes Miss Yoohyeon. Other teachers never take the time to talk to her like this. Or even give her the option to get more out of school than hearing the same stuff every year. 

“Thank you, Hyejoo,” Yoohyeon reaches over, opening the head of the Spongebob figure. Loud, animated laughter falls from the figure and Yoohyeon pulls out a piece of candy. “Save this for lunch, okay?” 

Hyejoo’s eyes light up, “Okay, thanks!” 

“We’ll get started when the first bell rings,” Yoohyeon smiles again and turns back to her paperwork. 

Hyejoo takes the signal and turns around, hitching her backup up, and walks toward Yerim. She’s in a conversation with two girls that Hyejoo doesn’t remember seeing when they walked in. 

When she gets closer she can hear their conversation.

“No, this seat is for Hyejoo,” Yerim says sternly. 

“Come on, Yerim, she’s the weird new kid, do you really want to sit with her?” The girl with pink hair says. 

“Who cares if she’s new, Ryujin? She’s nice.” Yerim crosses her arm, not budging. 

“She follows you around like a lost puppy,” the other girl says. Ryujin giggles at the comment. The sound makes Hyejoo’s stomach churn. 

“And you follow Ryujin like a lost puppy, Chaeryeong,” Yerim stands from her seat and moves closer to them. “Hyejoo is really nice, and she’s new here. If you two are going to be mean to her, then we aren’t friends anymore.” 

Ryujin and Chaeryeong look shocked and stutter out apologies, clearly not pleased at that idea. Yerim doesn’t listen to it, turning around to sit back at her desk, an empty seat waiting for Hyejoo. 

Hyejoo can’t stop the tiny smile that curls at the corner of her lips. She’s grown used to the bullies, to the mean people that think her being new is something to be unkind about. But never has she seen someone stick up for her after only knowing her for such a short time. 

Hyejoo confidently walks up to the empty desk next to Yerim and takes a seat. 

“Hi, thanks for sitting with me,” Hyejoo says softly. Ryujin and Chaeryeong scoff and stomp off to the desks the aisle over. 

“I said we would, didn’t I?” Yerim offers her a smile. Neither gets a chance to talk anymore as Miss Yoohyeon walks to the front of the room just as the bell rings. Hyejoo and Yerim turn their attention to her. 

Hyejoo can’t really remember the last time she had been this excited for a school year, but this one is starting off so much better than all the rest. 

When Jinsol picks her up later, Hyejoo goes on and on about Yerim. Jinsol is close to turning the car around and having a talk with the parents of the two students who were not so nice to her daughter. But Hyejoo assures her that Yerim stood up for her and the other kids have been really nice to her since. 

“If you have any more trouble, please tell me, okay?” Jinsol asks, extending her pinky to her daughter. 

“I promise,” Hyejoo wraps hers around her mom’s. “Do I get ice cream now?” 

Jinsol laughs and assures her daughter that they’ll go get ice cream, per tradition. Hyejoo spends the whole car ride talking about Yerim and Miss Yoohyeon, and all the cool things this new school has,  _ especially _ the warm cookies in the cafeteria. 

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Jinsol and Hyejoo fall into a routine. On weekdays, Jinsol spends her afternoons doing work or cleaning the apartment, while she waits for Hyejoo to get out of school. On Friday’s, they always go to get ice cream after school. The college kids working have since memorized their orders. Usually giving Hyejoo an extra scoop when they think Jinsol isn’t looking. 

While they drive home, Hyejoo excitedly retells her day to her mom. Yerim pops up in the stories more often than not. Whether it’s what they did in class, or how Yerim made her laugh so hard milk came out of her nose. Jinsol can’t stop the smile whenever Hyejoo talks about her new friend. 

Normally, Hyejoo is impossible to wake up for school. Jinsol had to drag the kid out of bed on more than one occasion. Ever since Hyejoo became close with Yerim, her daughter has been rushing out the door to see her friend every morning. Jinsol can barely keep up with her. 

She’s happy for her daughter though, that she isn’t suffering the same kind of loneliness that Jinsol is enduring. Having Hyejoo in her life is more than enough on most days, but sometimes Jinsol regrets the kind of life she let herself grow accustomed to. 

“I’ll see you at the end of the day, okay?” Jinsol says, dropping Hyejoo off at the front of the school. She can see Yerim with her bright purple hair waiting by the door. 

“Okay, love you, Mom,” Hyejoo kisses her on the cheek and slides out of the backseat. 

“Have a good day! Tell Yerim I said hello,” Jinsol calls before the door shuts. Hyejoo waves to her one more time before rushing over to Yerim. Yerim peers around Hyejoo and waves to Jinsol before the pair walk into the building. 

As happy as Jinsol is for her daughter, she worries that Hyejoo won’t be okay having to leave her friend when they move on. She’s never actively discouraged her daughter from having friends, but she’s also never seen Hyejoo get so close to someone else so quickly. It’s always just been the two of them. 

She scolds herself for being jealous of an eight-year-old. No matter what she knows she’s still number one in Hyejoo’s life. 

A horn honking behind her pulls her from her thoughts, and she drives off to the cafe she’s been frequenting. 

Inside the school, Yerim and Hyejoo walk up to the second floor to find Yerim’s mom. Yerim had realized she took her mom’s lunch when the pair were putting their stuff away in their classroom cubbies. Miss Yoohyeon let them take the walk upstairs before the first bell rings. 

“Which one is your mom’s room?” Hyejoo asks as they walk past all the big kids waiting in the hallways. 

“It’s the one at the end, with the sun on the door,” Yerim skips ahead of her, waving to the bigger kids. A few greet her, calling her Little Jo as she passes by. “I come up here a lot during the day when I’m not supposed to. My mom tries to scold me, but I’m too cute to scold.”

Hyejoo shakes her head, “I don’t like it up here.”

“Don’t worry, you’re with me,” Yerim takes her friends hand and pulls her into her mom’s classroom. Yerim walks up to her mom’s desk, “Miss Jo, you stole my lunch again.”

“Your lunch—” Miss Jo lifts her head and laughs at the sight of her daughter’s cheeky smile. “Yerimie, what are you doing up here?”

“I told you, you stole my lunch again,” Yerim drops the bagged lunch on the desk. “I don’t want your salad.” 

“A salad is good for you,” Miss Jo says, but opens the drawer next to her and hands her daughter the other bagged lunch. “But I don’t really want to eat fruit gummies and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch either.”

Yerim takes the bag from her mom. 

“Who’s this?” Miss Jo turns to look at Hyejoo who’s been watching their exchange with amusement. 

“Oh, Mom, this is Hyejoo,” Yerim says excitedly. 

“You’re the friend Yerim hasn’t stopped talking about,” Miss Jo smiles at her. “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name. I’m Haseul.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Hyejoo says quietly. 

“Are you liking it here at Rosy Day?” Haseul asks, seeing as her daughter has walked off to talk to the older kids. Haseul’s been teaching here since before Yerim was born. Even when growing up, Yerim would make an appearance in her classrooms. She’s social, loves meeting new people, and especially loves talking them into trading snacks. 

“Yeah, it’s different from the other schools I’ve gone to,” Hyejoo says, looking up at Haseul. Her friend’s mom has a gentle face, one that makes her feel more comfortable to talk the more she looks at her. Hyejoo thinks that’s where Yerim gets it from. 

“How many schools have you been to?” 

“Um,” Hyejoo stops to think, counting the number on her fingers. “Twelve, I think.” 

Haseul schools her expression into one of open curiosity, but in her mind she is curious what kind of family life this kid has to be moving around so much. Before she can ask another question, the warning bell goes off, and Yerim comes skittering back over to them. 

“We gotta go, I don’t wanna make Miss Yoohyeon mad,” Yerim whispers and then smiles at her mom. “Bye Mom.”

“Bye, Honey,” Haseul kisses her daughter's head and then waves to Hyejoo, “Bye, Hyejoo. Have a good day, girls.” 

“You too, Miss Haseul,” Hyejoo says, waving as she follows Yerim out of the classroom. “Your mom is nice.”

“So is yours!” Yerim skips ahead of her. “We should make them meet, they can be best friends like we are.” 

Hyejoo nods, thinking that her mom could use a friend. She can see how sad her mom has been lately, and maybe Yerim’s mom would be a good friend for her. 

* * *

Jinsol is trying to leave to go pick up Hyejoo from school that same day when her car doesn’t start. She’s stranded at the cafe in the next town over, without anyone to help her out. Of all the times for this to happen, it had to be when she needed to go get her daughter. She curses under her breath before calling a tow-truck and then the school. 

Jiwoo picks up on the first ring, “Rosy Day School, Jiwoo speaking.” 

“Jiwoo, Hi, it’s Jinsol Jung—”

“Oh, Jinsol, hello! What can I help you with?” Jiwoo’s cheeriness is usually a delight to see in the mornings or when she picks Hyejoo up after a long day. But right now it’s rubbing her the wrong way. 

Taking a deep breath to remain as pleasant as possible, despite the rising anxiety of not being there to get her daughter, Jinsol explains what happened. “I’m trying to find a way to the school now, but I might be a bit late.”

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry, that’s definitely not good timing,” Jiwoo says. “Don’t worry, we have staff here after school for clubs and I’ll be here until five. We’ll look after Hyejoo and let her know what happened.” 

“Thank you so much,” Jinsol breathes a sigh of relief and hangs up. 

A tow truck pulls up to her car a few moments later and Jinsol begs the man to drop her off at the Rosy Day School before bringing the car to the garage. He isn’t too keen on the idea until Jinsol breaks down in tears. She hates the idea of Hyejoo having to wait for her and worries about something bad happening to her even though the school is more than capable of looking after her for a little while longer. 

By the time Jinsol bursts into the school, it’s nearly an hour later. Jiwoo buzzes her into the school and points toward the lobby where she can hear her daughter’s laughter. The weight on her chest lifts at the sound and she breathes a sigh of relief. 

Hyejoo and Yerim are playing ping-pong in the lobby. Neither are playing by the actual rules. They’re mostly trying to see who can hit the ball the farthest. 

“Mom!” Hyejoo yells when she spots Jinsol. She’s distracted for a moment and misses the ping-pong ball coming at her, smacking her on the side of the head. “Ow,” Hyejoo rubs her head. 

“Oops, sorry, Hye,” Yerim rushes over to her friend. 

“Yerim, you need to be more careful,” a woman calls from the couch near the two girls. 

“It was my bad, Miss Haseul, I shouldn’t have looked away,” Hyejoo mumbles. She picks up the ball again and her and Yerim go back to playing. Jinsol glances over to the other woman and she swears her breath catches in her throat. She’s beautiful, there’s no getting around that, but she has the same bright disposition about her that Yerim does. Jinsol can’t take her eyes off her.

It takes another bout of laughter to break her from her daze and walk over to her. She drops heavily onto the couch next to her and offers her hand, “Jinsol, Hyejoo’s mom, thank you for looking after her.” 

“Haseul,” she shakes Jinsol’s hand. “And it’s not a problem. My daughter and her are attached at the hip, it seems.” 

“You must be Yerim’s Mom,” Jinsol deduces. “Seriously, thank you for staying with her. I had car troubles and had to beg the tow truck driver to bring me here and—” 

“It’s really no trouble, Jinsol,” Haseul smiles. “Let me drive you both back to your home, so you don’t have to beg any more strange men.” 

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Jinsol says, pushing her hair out of her face. 

“You didn’t, I offered,” Haseul says. 

Jinsol rarely accepts help from new people, she doesn’t like to feel indebted to anyone. But it’s just one ride. What harm can it do?

“Yeah, okay, thank you, Haseul,” Jinsol smiles and follows Haseul over to their daughters. Jinsol kisses Hyejoo on the head, murmuring an apology for being late. 

“No worries, Mom, I had fun with Yerim and Haseul,” Hyejoo smiles. It’s bright and easy, full of a happiness that Jinsol isn’t sure she’s seen often from her daughter. 

“I’m glad,” Jinsol picks up Hyejoo’s backpack. “Haseul offered to drive us home.” 

“What happened to our car?” Hyejoo asks as the four of them walk out to the parking lot. 

“Ah, it wouldn’t turn on. I’ll have to call the auto-body shop tomorrow to talk to them about it,” Jinsol explains. Hyejoo nods and follows Yerim climbing into the backseat of the SUV. 

“Where’d you send it,” Haseul asks. 

“I think the guy took it to Lee’s Auto-body,” Jinsol buckles in and Haseul drives out of the parking lot. The girls in the backseat are chattering away as if they hadn’t been together all day. Retelling stories of the day and Yerim showing Hyejoo her favorite songs on her IPod. 

Jinsol and Haseul fall silent with only directions being spoken between them. Haseul’s not sure what to make of Jinsol, really. She can tell she raised Hyejoo well, but the only information she has about the woman is that they move around way too much for a child that age, and that she doesn’t seem to have a reliable vehicle. Haseul tries not to pass judgement. 

“I swear I’m not usually this messy,” Jinsol says as they continue their way through town. “Hyejoo is really all I have in life, I don’t want you to think I don’t take that seriously.” 

She doesn’t know why she’s explaining this to Haseul, or even feeling the need to make sure the woman knows she isn’t an unfit mother. But Jinsol knows the kind of judgement other parents have when looking at her relationship with her daughter. Sure they move around a lot, and sometimes her car can be a bit unreliable after all the miles she’s put on it. But she would never jeopardize her daughter’s safety or well being. 

“You don’t need to explain that to me,” Haseul says, glancing at Jinsol who’s been staring at her this whole time. She can’t lie, she’s curious about Jinsol, not in a way that she’s judging her lifestyle, but more like she needs to get to know her. 

“Maybe not, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me,” Jinsol confesses, offering a small smile. 

“I don’t know enough about you to make judgement,” Haseul says lightly. 

Jinsol laughs, “You make points.”

“Seeing as our daughter’s are friends, maybe we’ll get to know each other better,” Haseul offers her own smile to Jinsol as they turn down the street to the Jung’s apartment. 

In the backseat, Hyejoo and Yerim exchange a satisfied look at their moms’ getting along. 

When they pull up in front of the apartment complex, Haseul is awestruck. Not only because she’s never been to this side of town before, but because the building is known as one of the most expensive in the town. Her small house on the other side of town is nothing compared to this. 

“Whoa!” Yerim yells, leaning over Hyejoo to look at the old converted mill. “You live here?” 

“Yup,” Hyejoo says, “It has a pool, too!” 

Jinsol smiles sheepishly at the intense gaze coming from Haseul. She’s pretty sure Haseul’s probably wondering how she can afford such an expensive place and still have a shitty car. There’s not a good answer for that. Jinsol is just emotionally attached to that car. 

“Thank you for the ride, Haseul,” Jinsol unbuckles and picks her and Hyejoo’s bag off the floor by her feet. 

“It’s no problem,” Haseul says. “Do you have a ride for tomorrow?”

“Um, no…” Jinsol chuckles, face reddening, “But I can think of something, don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll come pick Hyejoo up at seven-thirty,” Haseul says. Jinsol goes to argue but she’s silenced by the stern look being sent her way. “Until your car is fixed, anyway. I don’t mind, and you don’t have room to argue.”

“You really don’t need to…”

“But I want to,” Haseul reaches over to the center console and pulls out a business card she uses during the summer for tutoring. She holds it out to Jinsol, “Take my number in case you ever need anything.”

Jinsol hesitates. Accepting one ride is one thing, but accepting all of this at once? Jinsol isn’t too sure. She glances back at Hyejoo who is telling Yerim all about their apartment complex and all the places she wants to show her. When she turns back to Haseul, the woman is still holding the card out, patiently waiting. Haseul didn’t need to do this much, didn’t need to offer anything to Jinsol, but here she is more than willing to go out of her way for someone who’s an absolute stranger. 

She takes the card and slides it into her bag. “Thank you, I—I’ll pay you back, I promise.”

Haseul waves her off, “It must not be easy being new to a town where you don’t know anyone.”

“Mom and I are always new to town,” Hyejoo says, drawing their attention to the back of the car. Jinsol thinks now is a good time to leave. 

“Right, we should go, thank you again,” Jinsol opens the door and Hyejoo is quick to follow her mom. 

“Thanks Miss Haseul!” Hyejoo smiles and waves to them before shutting the door. As Haseul drives away, Hyejoo looks up at her mom. “Isn’t Miss Haseul cool?” 

“Yeah,” Jinsol says wistfully. She shakes her head and pulls Hyejoo close, “Come on, kiddo, I gotta get dinner going.” 

* * *

The next morning Haseul calls Jinsol when she’s outside. Hyejoo and her rush down to the parking lot so as not to leave them waiting for too long. She waves to Yerim in the backseat when Hyejoo gets into the car. 

“Morning, Jinsol,” Haseul greets with a smile. She lifts her travel mug to her lips. 

“Thank you again for this,” Jinsol leans on the open passenger side window. “I called Jiwoo this morning to let her know you’ll be picking Hyejoo up for me until my car is fixed. Hye has the note in her bag.”

“Front pocket, next to my wolf pencil bag,” Hyejoo smacks her bag grinning. 

“Good job, baby, make sure you give it to Jiwoo at the desk, okay?” Jinsol turns back to Haseul who mouths that she’ll make sure Jiwoo gets it. Jinsol steps back, “Love you, have a good day.”

“Love you mom,” Hyejoo blows her a kiss before Haseul pulls out of the lot. 

Jinsol stands in the parking lot another moment, waiting for the car to disappear down the road before trudging back up to the apartment. When the door shuts behind her, she’s reminded of why she hates staying home to work.

The silence is too loud.

Hyejoo isn’t yelling at her video games, or knocking on her office door with homework questions. There’s no cartoons playing in the background. No silly giggles or distractions. It’s just Jinsol and her skin itching to move again. 

But then she thinks of Hyejoo’s smile when she talks about Yerim and her school. Or about the field trip to the Han Dong Zoo. Or even her teacher, Miss Yoohyeon. 

Jinsol knows they’re growing too comfortable here, knows that the more invested Hyejoo becomes in their life here, the more she risks her daughter getting hurt when they inevitably leave. 

Shaking her head, she takes a seat at her desk and turns on music to fill the silence. At least for now she can hide behind the distractions of her work. 

  
  


Jinsol is so immersed in her work she barely realizes how much time has passed. Save for the few times she got up to eat or go to the bathroom, she has been attached to her computer. What jolts her out of her world is the little feet pattering down the hall followed by a few voices. 

“Mommy?” Hyejoo knocks on her door. 

“Oh, shit,” Jinsol stands and rushes to open the door. Hyejoo stands there with a concerned look on her face. 

“You forgot to get me from the front door,” Hyejoo frowns. 

“I’m so sorry, Hye, I was distracted. I didn’t mean to worry you, are you okay?” 

Hyejoo nods, “Yeah, now that I know you’re okay, too.” 

Jinsol smiles tenderly at her daughter, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. It’s then that she notices the smaller, purple haired girl behind her.

“Hi Mrs. Jinsol!” Yerim waves from her spot couching on the ground. Jinsol looks at her daughter who is avoiding her gaze. 

“Just Jinsol is fine, Yerim,” Jinsol smiles. “Where’s your mom?” 

“Over here,” Haseul says peering into the hallway where they are. “I apologize for invading your home like this. Hyejoo was worried when you didn’t pick up your phone. She wanted to come in by herself, since she has a key, but I didn’t feel comfortable sending her up alone.”

Jinsol gives Hyejoo a pointed look. They’ve had conversations about running off alone and how dangerous it can be. She guesses she needs to have that conversation with her again. 

“Thank you for that,” Jinsol offers her a smile and polite nod. 

“Mom, Mom, Mom, can Yerim play with me for a little while? Please?” Hyejoo peers up at her with big puppy eyes and a pout to match it. 

“Yeah, Mrs—Just Jinsol, can I? Please?” Yerim copies Hyejoo. Jinsol’s left looking at two very effective pouts, breaking down any resolve she had on saying no to the first request. She glances at Haseul who is offering no sympathy. Instead, she leans against the wall, arms crossed, clearly impressed that Jinsol could last this long in the face of their daughters. 

“Uh, I—if you’re mom is okay with it, Yerim,” Jinsol says, attempting to leave the decision to Haseul. 

“An hour,” Haseul says and the two little girls cheer. “I mean it Yerim, one hour.” 

“Okay, okay, Hye let’s go before they change their minds,” Yerim giggles and Hyejoo pulls her toward her room. 

“I can show you my plushie collection! My mom gets me one from every new place we go to,” Hyejoo says with a jump in her step. 

Haseul raises a brow at Jinsol who is still trying to wrap her head around getting bamboozled by two kids. She’s used to Hyejoo’s pouts, but Yerim brings it to a whole new level. 

“They’re a dangerous duo,” Jinsol mutters in disbelief. 

“And they know it,” Haseul laughs. 

“You were  _ no _ help just then.” 

It just makes Haseul laugh harder. “They’ve been trying to get me to agree to them playing for the whole car ride. You made it easy for them to succeed.” 

Jinsol slumps and closes her office door behind her and gestures to the kitchen. “Something to drink? There’s no use in you leaving for an hour.”

“Water is fine,” Haseul sits at the kitchen island. 

“I’m sorry about that, by the way, I was working on an article. Sometimes I get too absorbed in it.” Jinsol slides a glass across the table. “And thank you, for making sure Hyejoo made it up here safely.”

“You thank me a lot.” 

“You keep doing nice things for me,” Jinsol points out. She takes a seat next to Haseul and eyes the woman. For what she may lack in height, she makes up for in her attitude, that’s for sure. Not in a bad way, but Jinsol can tell Haseul can hold her own. Maybe that comes with working with a bunch of fifth graders. Or from the strength of raising a daughter on her own. Jinsol knows that challenge, but even then, there’s something to Haseul that Jinsol can’t put her finger on whenever she looks at her. 

“Why do you act so surprised every time I do?” Haseul challenges. 

“Because no one else ever has,” Jinsol shrugs. 

“No one has, or you don’t let them?” 

Jinsol is taken aback for a moment at the bluntness that is Haseul’s question. She’s certain if it had been anyone else to ask her that she would have kicked them out immediately. But Haseul didn’t say it with arrogance or accusation. She had said it gently, like she really did understand—or was at least trying to understand—what Jinsol is doing. 

“I think I’ve never met anyone who has been persistent enough in their kindness to not take no for an answer,” Jinsol says, her lips curling against better judgement. 

“Us single Moms need to stick together, right?” Haseul lifts her glass in a teasing cheers. Jinsol mimics her. 

They fall into an easy conversation about their daughters and their jobs. Barely scratching the surface, but still finding enough in common that Jinsol feels that ache of loneliness leave her. Just for a little while. 

When Hyejoo is hugging Yerim goodbye, Haseul pulls Jinsol to the side. 

“We should do this again, maybe with some wine instead of water,” Haseul says. 

For a second, Jinsol thinks about turning her down, but then she sees Hyejoo smile widely, and finds one creeping onto her face, too. 

“Yeah, definitely,” Jinsol nods. “I’ll answer my phone tomorrow, I promise.”

“I’ll just barge in here again if you don’t. Bye, Jinsol,” Haseul smiles and waves to Hyejoo. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Bye Miss Haseul.” Hyejoo closes the door and jumps up, hugging her mom. “Thanks for letting Yerim stay to play for a bit. You’re the best Mom ever.” 

Jinsol wraps her arms around Hyejoo and hugs her so tightly, Hyejoo whines. “I love you, baby.”

“Can’t breathe! You’re gonna squish me,” Hyejoo huffs. 

“But you’re so cute, and squishy, I could just eat you up!” Jinsol exclaims, pretending to take bites out of her. 

“Mom, no! If you want to eat, cook dinner,” Hyejoo struggles in her mom’s arms. Jinsol takes the queue and puts her daughter on the ground. 

“How about tonight we switch roles. You cook dinner and I do third grade math.”

“You’ll do my homework?” Hyejoo’s eyes light up. “Cool, we can have cereal for dinner. That’s all I can make. Have fun with my math, Mom!” 

Hyejoo rushes out of the room with a giggle and Jinsol is stunned standing there. 

“I walked right into that,” she whispers. “Hyejoo Jung, get back here!” 

Louder giggles echo through the apartment. Jinsol’s heart is full at the sound, at the happiness that radiates off her daughter. That fills the apartment with so much joy and warmth. She can’t imagine what her life would be like without her daughter. Jinsol doesn’t want to imagine it. Not when having Hyejoo as a daughter makes her life complete. 

She leaves the kitchen and follows the sounds of the laughter, trying to find her mischievous daughter. 

* * *

Jinsol gets her car fixed quickly after that day so she no longer has to be tied to Haseul in that way. She appreciates everything she has done for her, but Jinsol can’t stand having someone help her out so immensely.Yeah, she agreed to sitting and chatting with Haseul more, but as nice as it had been, Jinsol can’t let herself be wrapped into a friendship she’ll inevitably lose.

Yet, even after she’s cut that tie, Hyejoo and Yerim keep bringing them back together. 

It starts with play dates. Dropping one daughter off at the others home or a park for the girls to play. Jinsol is adamant at first that she won’t invite Haseul in or stay when Haseul offers. She usually leaves with a wave and scampers off before Haseul can say a word to her. 

Haseul is starting to think that maybe Jinsol doesn’t actually like to be around her. Though Hyejoo squashes those thoughts fast by telling Haseul her mom is just not used to being around “old” people. 

Jinsol can’t ignore it much more when Hyejoo invites Yerim over to go swimming. This, of course, means she has to see Haseul and for a longer period of time. Haseul doesn’t want Jinsol to be stuck on guard duty for two kids, so she shows up with Yerim and her own bathing suit to swim, too. 

“If that’s okay with you,” she smiles. And how can Jinsol say no when Haseul looks that sweet and disarming? She really can’t.

It’s an even more tortuous afternoon for Jinsol. Not because she is forced to get to know Haseul, but now she has to sit and act like she isn’t internally drooling over her body in a bathing suit. 

They spent hours in the pool house, playing with Yerim and Hyejoo and lounging on the chairs. Jinsol finds it almost too easy to talk to Haseul. She blames it on the fact that it’s been a while since she’s talked to someone above the age of eight. 

She can’t deny that it’s nice, though. Haseul makes her laugh in a way she hasn’t in a very long time. And seeing Hyejoo have fun is a bonus. There haven’t been many towns where either of them have made good friends. This town is different. Maison is different. 

Or there’s the day Jinsol goes to drop Hyejoo off at Haseul’s house, only to be dragged inside by Yerim because she wants to show Jinsol her betta fish. 

Jinsol can’t lie, she actually had wanted to see the fish. Which Hyejoo had known, of course, it’s something her and Yerim cooked up together. They had snuck off while Haseul and Jinsol were talking. And Jinsol is far too polite to leave in the middle of a conversation, or turn down the invitation to have tea with Haseul. 

It’s that afternoon that Jinsol learns Haseul doesn’t have any family left either, it’s just her and Yerim. 

“I’m an only child and my parents died a few years after I had Yerim,” Haseul divulges. “I’m thankful she got to meet them. We go and see them at the cemetery on their birthdays and stuff like that. Yerim always picks out their flowers and tells them stories. It’s sweet.”

“I lost my parents, too,” Jinsol says, offering a sympathetic smile. 

“It’s not easy,” Haseul says and Jinsol hums in agreement. “Did Hyejoo get to meet them?” 

“No, no, uh...I had her after they passed,” Jinsol looks out the sliding glass door of the kitchen. Outside Yerim is chasing Hyejoo with a frog in her hand. Jinsol tries to push the pain in her chest down. She’s never spent much time dwelling on the fact that her parents never met her daughter; their granddaughter. But to think of all that Hyejoo missed out from them, that Jinsol missed out having them in her life as she raised Hyejoo. 

Haseul reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. The warmth that radiates through Jinsol is too much. She swallows thickly and pulls away, using that hand to cover a fake cough. 

“So, tell me the most ridiculous excuse a student used for not having homework,” Jinsol shifts, turning her body away from Haseul a little. 

Haseul can take the hint, leaning back in her seat to give Jinsol space. She launches into a long winded story, that Jinsol willingly hangs on every word to so she doesn’t have to think about anything else. Not the sadness seeping in from the loss of her parents. Especially not the jolt in her heart from Haseul’s hand in hers that could so easily break down everything she’s spent her life building. But she can’t help the nagging feeling that maybe that comfort from Haseul is exactly what she needs. 

The real turning point is when Jinsol formally invites Haseul and Yerim to have dinner at their apartment one Friday night. They’ve been dancing around this friendship for weeks now, and Jinsol can’t ignore it anymore. She can’t pretend that she doesn’t look forward to seeing Haseul when she picks Hyejoo up from school. Or that she isn’t secretly hoping that Hyejoo will want to hang out with Yerim so she can find an excuse to talk to Haseul. Honestly, Jinsol is partially hoping her car breaks down again just to have an excuse to spend time with the other woman. 

She doesn’t know how she got here. From being someone who doesn’t rely on anyone, to adding Haseul to the list of people who can pick Hyejoo up from school or to call in case of an emergency. 

Jinsol is terrified what this friendship could mean for her and Hyejoo down the line, but for right now, it’s nice having someone her age to spend time with. Someone to gossip about other parents and whine about being an adult. 

That’s how they end up here, after dinner in Jinsol’s apartment, with the kids in Hyejoo’s room playing a game, and a bottle of wine between them. 

“You’ve been so nice, I should’ve thanked you sooner,” Jinsol says, pouring more wine into their glasses. They’re sitting on the couch with their bodies turned slightly so they can look at each other.

“You’ve thanked me  _ plenty _ . Plus, I didn’t mind at all, I know how hard being a single parent can be,” Haseul takes a sip of her wine. 

“Can I ask—?”

“Why I’m single?” Haseul laughs, “It’s nothing tragic or extravagant, it was simply a choice. I wanted to be a mom, but didn’t want to wait to fall in love to have a kid. I picked out a sperm donor and well, here we are eight years later. I have no regrets though. Yerim is everything I wanted and so much more. I can’t imagine if I waited for love, because I wouldn’t have Yerim.” 

“I get that,” Jinsol hums, sipping her glass. 

“Yeah? What’s your story?” Haseul leans back against the couch, eyeing Jinsol curiously. 

Jinsol blames the wine for her wanting to open up. It definitely has nothing to do with the beautiful woman staring at her right now with rosy cheeks and gentle smile. Nope. Definitely not that. 

“I’m sure you noticed I travel a lot,” Jinsol gestures to all the photos around the apartment. 

“It doesn’t take much to deduce that, no,” Haseul laughs. 

Jinsol scrunches her face up and narrows her eyes teasingly, “I’ve been moving around a lot since I graduated college, not really sure what I wanted and my parents encouraged it. When they died, I was going through a lot. I had a series of one night stands, and I ended up pregnant. I had just lost my only family, and the idea of having my own gave me peace, you know? It’s been me and Hyejoo ever since. My little adventure buddy.” 

“She talks about you a lot,” Haseul smiles, “she’ll find any way to bring you into a conversation.”

“Hyejoo’s all I have, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to make her happy.”

“You two still move around a lot, though, right?” 

Jinsol nods, looking away, knowing what Haseul is hinting at. Her lifestyle leads them all over the country, but what if Hyejoo is happier staying in one place? Jinsol hasn’t had to think about that yet. 

“We do, she loves the trips as much as I do, she’s a lot like me in that way,” Jinsol says slowly. She meets Haseul’s soft gaze. “It takes a lot for me to stay in one place for a while.”

“I’d love to travel more,” Haseul sighs, changing the topic. 

Jinsol releases a breath she didn't know she had been holding, “Where would you go?” 

“Hmm, I dunno, I think that giant toilet would be funny to see.”

“Anything looks giant next to you, Haseul,” Jinsol points out with a snort. Haseul feigns offense before breaking out in laughter alongside her. 

Two little heads poke out of the room down the hall, watching their moms’ laugh together. Hyejoo and Yerim share a grin. 

“Think they’re gonna be friends?” Hyejoo asks. She sees her mom lean forward while laughing, her hand brushing against Haseul’s.

“I think they already are,” Yerim says. 

The pair slink back into the room, closing the door. Hyejoo lays on her bed and hands one of the Nintendo Switch controllers to Yerim. They fall back into playing Mario Kart, and the moms’ in the living room can hear their competitive yelling. Neither budge to check on them though, they’ve grown used to shouting. Especially when it comes to games. 

It’s not much later when Haseul and Jinsol finish that bottle of wine. Haseul realizes it’s probably best to head out now, thinking she’s long overstayed her welcome. But when they go to Hyejoo’s room to get Yerim, they find the two girls fast asleep on the bed. 

Jinsol and Haseul stand in the doorway, light from the hallway spilling into the otherwise dark room, casting their shadows along the floor. 

“They look too cute,” Haseul whispers. 

“They do,” Jinsol agrees. Though, she’s certain if Haseul’s heart is aching right now, it probably has more to do with the sweetness of the sight and not the impending thoughts that one day the two will be torn apart. Jinsol doesn’t particularly want to think about it. She knows she’s grown too comfortable here, too comfortable with Haseul. It goes against her entire rule book she set up for herself so she doesn’t get hurt. So Hyejoo doesn’t get hurt. 

This might be the one time they do get hurt, and it’s all her fault. 

“We shouldn’t wake them up,” Haseul says, slowly closing the door. “I’ll come pick Yerim up, tomorrow, if that’s okay?” 

Jinsol shakes her head, “Don’t be ridiculous, you’re not leaving either. You’ve been drinking, and it’s late. You’re staying.”

“I can’t ask you to let me do that.”

A smile tugs at Jinsol’s lips, “You’re not asking, I’m offering.” 

Haseul laughs, but let’s Jinsol show her to the guest room. It’s not so much a guest room as it is an office for Jinsol that just happens to have a bed in it. But she accepts the change of clothes Jinsol gives her and the fresh towels in case she wants to use the shower. 

“Thanks for tonight, I had fun. We should do this more often,” Haseul says as Jinsol excuses herself to go to sleep. 

She pauses by the door, pulling her lip into her mouth. Jinsol hates to admit it, but she had fun, too. There haven’t been many times in the past few years where she genuinely connected with someone else other than her daughter. It feels nice. And that scares her. 

“Yeah, we should,” Jinsol says despite her internal protest. “Goodnight, Haseul.”

“Night, Jinsol,” Haseul offers her a sweet smile before closing the door. 

Jinsol shuffles back to her room, blaming her rapid heartbeat on all the wine she drank. 

* * *

Jinsol had been hopeful that she’d get out of this school year without being chaperone once, but luck has not been on her side. She gets a frantic call from Jiwoo one morning hopeful that Jinsol could be a chaperone on the field trip to the local zoo. 

“I wouldn’t be asking so short notice if I wasn’t absolutely desperate,” Jiwoo says through the phone. 

Jinsol knows the field trip is a big one, all the grades are going. Losing one chaperone last notice must be stress inducing for the poor secretary. 

“I’ll be there!” Jiwoo says. 

“Ah, I’m not sure—” Jinsol looks down at the half written article on her laptop screen. 

“And Haseul!” Jiwoo adds and Jinsol closes her laptop.

“Okay, I’ll meet you at the school?” 

“Yes, yes, we leave at eleven. Thank you so much, Jinsol!” Jiwoo cheers and hangs up, leaving Jinsol to rush to get dressed to make it to the school in time. 

She’s pretending she didn’t agree quickly the moment she heard Haseul will be there, but who is she kidding? 

They’ve gotten closer as the school year wears on. Between the weekly sleepovers for their daughters—and themselves— and all the random hang-outs scattered throughout, Jinsol has begrudgingly let Haseul deeper into her life. She blames that stupid disarming smile that has a way of sneaking under her carefully constructed walls. And the wine. Jinsol blames all the wine that made her feel comfortable enough to spill her secrets and laugh with Haseul until the early morning light streamed through her apartment windows. 

Somewhere between all of that, Jinsol and Haseul became friends. Maybe there’s more to it than that, but Jinsol is not going to think about it. Instead, she’s going to pack a quick bag with snacks and other necessities for the Zoo, and heading out. At least she gets to spend the day with her daughter and not trapped inside with her computer. 

  
  


Turns out Jiwoo’s plea for another chaperone had been unnecessary. There are plenty of chaperones even without the one parent who bailed last minute. Jinsol isn’t sure if this is some elaborate set up or Jiwoo really panicked about the ratio of chaperones to students. Either way, Jinsol really can’t complain because she’s sitting next to Haseul on the bus to the Han Dong Zoo. 

Haseul had been more than happy to see her. That same disarming smile on her lips, the one that makes Jinsol simultaneously want to run and to stay to spill all her secrets. 

It’s a scary balance between the two. One Jinsol isn’t too keen on finding out which will win in the end. 

She much rather focus on the warmth of their shoulders touching and the way Haseul nods her head to the beat of her music. It’s endearing, and Jinsol’s heart lurches when Haseul starts mouthing the words to the song with her eyes closed. 

“You’re staring,” Haseul says, pulling an ear bud out. 

“I just thought you looked ridiculous,” Jinsol shrugs and looks away, a blush settling on her cheeks. 

“Or you were thinking I’m pretty, which, you’re not wrong,” Haseul grins when Jinsol scoffs, turning to glare at her. “Lighten up, Sol, we’re going to spend the day with our daughters and cute little animals.”

“Last I checked, most of the animals at the zoo are bigger than us.”

“And last I checked, today was supposed to be  _ fun _ , don’t be lame.”

“Yeah, Mom, don’t be  _ lame _ ,” Hyejoo pops up from the seat behind them. 

“Just Jinsol isn’t lame, Hye,” Yerim rolls her eyes, a lollipop sticking out of her mouth. “She’s cautious.”

“What did I say about lollipops in moving vehicles, Yerim?” Haseul turns in her seat, scolding her daughter. 

Yerim takes it out of her mouth, “You said not to have them in cars because I could choke.”

“So why are you having one?”

“Because it’s a  _ blow _ pop not a lollipop,” Yerim taps her temple. “Loophole.” 

Hyejoo high fives her. 

“Sit in your seat, please, you two.” Jinsol narrows her eyes and both girls disappear from sight. She leans around her seat, “And stop eavesdropping. Teach Yerim that hand game I showed you during our camping trip in California.”

“Get the lollipop from Yerim,” Haseul whispers next to her. 

“Yerim, put the blowpop in the wrapper and save it for after lunch,” Jinsol says, no room for argument. 

“You got it Just Jinsol.” She gives Jinsol a thumbs up and riffles through her bag for the wrapper. Jinsol laughs and turns back to Haseul who raises an eyebrow. 

“Why does she call you that?” 

“I told her not to call me Mrs. Jinsol, and just Jinsol. I’m not sure if she’s being cheeky or took me literally.”

Haseul shakes her head and smiles, which slowly turns into an open mouthed laugh. “She’s absolutely being cheeky. You haven’t called her on it, have you?”

“Um, nope. Should I?” Jinsol frowns. 

“It’s too late now, she’ll keep calling you Just Jinsol until a better name comes along,” Haseul chuckles. “When she realized my name wasn’t Mom, she demanded to know my real name, and called me Haseul for months.”

“I swear I heard her call you Miss Jo, too.”

“She has,” Haseul smiles fondly. “Another name will come, I just don’t know if it’ll be any better or worse than Just Jinsol.”

“Please stop,” Jinsol laughs. Around them, the noise of the students talking fills the bus. Excited conversations about what animals they’ll see and souvenirs they can buy with the money their parents gave him. Jinsol points to Haseul’s phone, “What were you listening to?”

“Throwbacks to when I was a kid.” Haseul holds an earbud out to her, “want to listen?”

“As long as you don’t judge me if I don’t know them,” Jinsol says. 

“I’ll probably judge you.”

“Well, then be gentle with me.” Jinsol slides closer so the earbud doesn’t fall out. The sides are pressed flush against each other, hands resting on their thighs. She could just reach out and— 

“I will, I promise,” Haseul looks up at Jinsol. Her smile is small, secretive, and Jinsol doesn’t know what to make of it. But her heart flutters all the same. She’s thankful the music starts not a moment later and she can focus on something else. 

  
  


“That tortoise is huge,” Hyejoo says leaning on the railing. Yerim nods quickly next to her. “How old is it?”

Haseul peers at the sign next to the exhibit, “He’s 123 years old.”

“Whoa, he’s older than you!” Hyejoo stares up at her mom wide eyed. 

“He’s like three times my age, Hye.” 

“I dunno if it’s that much.”

Jinsol can’t respond before Hyejoo and Yerim are running off toward the next exhibit. Haseul and Jinsol are following just as quickly behind them. She can hear Haseul laughing next to her. 

“You’re the same age as me, she basically called you ancient, too.” Jinsol pouts. 

“We can be ancient together,” Haseul says, jogging past Jinsol to catch up to their daughters. Jinsol nearly trips over her own feet. 

She finds the three of them gathered around a small brown shed. Steps lead up to the front of it with a sign that says “Red Bat.” They’re all staring at her with matching mischievous grins that unnerves her. 

“You should look in there,” Haseul says, nodding her head toward the shed. 

“Yeah, Mom! It’s so cool, I bet it’s actually a vampire.” Hyejoo goes behind her mom and starts pushing on her butt to make her move. “Go peek. Go.”

“Don’t be a scaredy cat, Just Jinsol. Even my mom looked and she’s scared of birds!” Yerim smiles happily despite the glare she’s receiving from her mom. 

Jinsol looks over her shoulder at a few people giggling at the sight of Hyejoo pushing her around. “Okay, okay, stop pushing me. I’ll look.” 

She walks up the steps and leans to peer through the window. Not entirely sure what she’s supposed to be seeing until she realizes what’s hanging right in front of her. Before she can say anything, Hyejoo shouts next to her, making her jump back from the viewing window. She holds her hand to her chest as the other three laugh. 

“Very funny,” Jinsol grumbles, glaring at them all. “A literal, red baseball bat.”

“It’s your type of humor,” Haseul points out, still laughing. Jinsol glares even harder at her. Haseul sticks her tongue out before her and Yerim walk off toward the rhino exhibit leaving her with Hyejoo. 

“Are you mad, Mommy?” Hyejoo asks as they slowly walk to join their friends. Around them, streams of people walk by. Smells of greasy food and cotton candy waft through the air. She can make out other students and chaperone from Rosy Day from the matching pink of their shirts and the school crest. Some wave to her as they walk by.

“No, no, baby, you just took me by surprise.”

“Are you sure? You always tell me to talk about how I’m feeling and you looked mad at Miss Haseul,” Hyejoo looks up at her mom curiously. 

“I’m not mad at her, we were just playing around, like you and Yerim do.”

“Yeah, but you look at her differently than Yerim and I look at each other,” Hyejoo shrugs. She knows her and Yerim joke around a lot, but the way their moms joke doesn’t feel the same. She doesn’t really get it. 

The statement catches Jinsol by surprise and she pulls Hyejoo over to the side of the walkway. She picks her up and places her standing on the rock wall so they’re eye to eye. 

“What do you mean?” Jinsol asks carefully. She’s always raised Hyejoo to speak honestly with her. To express her feelings, thoughts, and observations so they can work through them together. It’s helped Hyejoo understand her emotions and be able to know what she needs. This is one of the moments where Jinsol isn’t pushing for her daughter’s benefit, but for her own. 

“I dunno,” Hyejoo looks away, tugging at the hem of her shirt. 

“It’s okay, take your time to bring your thoughts together.” Jinsol runs her hands over Hyejoo’s head. She peers over to where Haseul and Yerim were last, and sees them waiting. Haseul tilts her head and asks if everything is okay. Jinsol simply nods. 

“Sometimes you look annoyed with her, like you want her to go away,” Hyejoo says. “And other times, it’s like those gross movies you watch.”

“The romantic ones?” Jinsol asks, throat dry. 

“Yeah, like when they’re gonna kiss,” Hyejoo scrunches her face up in disgust. 

“I—hmm,” Jinsol bites her lip trying to come up with a response. She’s never lied to Hyejoo before, doesn’t like the idea of keeping things from her. But she also thinks her daughter doesn’t really understand the complexity of the relationship she has with Haseul. “I really like having Haseul around.”

Hyejoo tilts her head, taking in what her mom said and everything she’s seen between her mom and Haseul. Her mom has been less lonely, smiling more, especially when she sees Haseul. Hyejoo knows that the smile Haseul gets isn’t the one her mom gives her. 

She looks her mom in the eyes when she reaches her conclusion, “But you want to kiss her.”

“Yes—No!” Jinsol shakes her head vehemently. 

“It’s okay if you do,” Hyejoo shrugs. Haseul is nice, and Yerim is her best friend. If having Haseul around more means she can play with Yerim more she won’t complain. And she likes seeing her mom happy. “It’s gross, but it’s okay.”

“Hye, I don’t—” Jinsol tries to back track, not sure how her eight-year-old reached such an outrageous conclusion. Maybe it’s not outrageous, but Jinsol did not need Hyejoo to call her out like that when she isn’t remotely ready to consider those feelings for Haseul. 

But it’s oddly comforting to know Hyejoo is okay with it, if anything did happen.

Her daughter jumps down from the rock wall and takes her mom’s hand, “Can we go look at the kangaroos now? Yerim thinks she can jump higher than them and I bet my souvenir money that she can’t.”

“Uh, yeah, let’s go,” Jinsol stutters, letting Hyejoo pull her over to their friends. They weave through the crowd and Hyejoo rushes over to Yerim. 

They skip off to the kangaroo exhibit, leaving her and Haseul to walk together once again. Jinsol can’t shake what her daughter said. She can’t be that obvious that an eight year old can figure it out, can she? And if Hyejoo figured it out does that mean Haseul knows?

“You two okay?” Haseul asks, concern lacing her voice. 

“Yes, yeah,” Jinsol tries to force a smile through her tumultuous thoughts. “She wanted to make sure I wasn’t upset about the joke.”

Haseul nods, “were you? I wasn’t trying to—”

“No, not at all! It was funny,” Jinsol turns to her with a smile. A real one this time. “Though, I did hear that you’re scared of birds. Does that apply to peacocks?”

“They’re birds, so yes. Why?”

“I’d hate to break it to you, but there’s one behind you,” Jinsol points behind Haseul who refuses to turn around. 

“You’re lying.” Haseul crosses her arms indignantly, unaware of the peacock strutting up behind her. 

“Suit yourself, but it’s walking right up to you,” Jinsol shrugs and walks off. She doesn’t bother stifling the giggle when she hears Haseul scream and frantic footsteps. “Pay back.”

Haseul doesn’t answer, just latches onto Jinsol’s arm for the remainder of the afternoon. Jinsol doesn’t complain. 

  
  


Their day at the zoo wears on as the fall sun casts warmth on them. Hyejoo and Yerim skip happily from exhibit to exhibit. Arms linked similarly to their moms’ as the four of them move through the zoo. Jinsol ignores the blush that covers her cheeks whenever she remembers who’s clinging to her as they walk around. What she can’t ignore is the childlike glee Haseul shows whenever they come across another small and furry animal exhibit. Jinsol is practically putty in Haseul’s hand as she drags her along through the zoo chasing after their kids and her own happiness. 

They stop in front of the baboons where other chaperones and students stand looking through the thick viewing wall. Jinsol stands off to the side with Haseul who’s talking with Jiwoo and three parents she doesn’t know. 

“Chaewon has been running me all over the zoo today,” Jiwoo sighs, leaning against the railing behind her. “I think we’ve crossed the length of this place twice.”

“Same, Yeojin is always right on Chae’s heels,” Vivi slumps beside Jiwoo. “I can’t keep up with them. Is this what it’s like to be old?”

“Seriously,” the taller of the group sighs, a baseball cap sitting on her head. “I don’t know how you keep up with Hyunjin and Heejin when they stay at your place, Jungeun. At least Vivi lives next door to me to run interference.”

“I mostly look away unless I hear screaming,” Jungeun shrugs. The taller woman smacks her. “What was that for, Sooyoung?” 

“You’re supposed to  _ watch _ them,” Sooyoung narrows her eyes at her friend. Jiwoo and Haseul stifle their laughter, while Vivi shakes her head. 

“They’re alive aren’t they? My Hyunjin is an angel, your kid on the other hand…” 

“Are you implying something about Heejin?”

Jinsol watches tersely as the mother’s go toe to toe. Haseul looks over to Jinsol with a half-smile, shooting a wink her way. 

“Both your kids are menaces that play off each other,” Haseul says with a shrug. 

“Chae says they pull her and Yeojin into the chaos most of the time. I don’t totally believe it,” Jiwoo adds. “Though, I think Jinsol’s daughter is causing some chaos of her own right now.” She laughs loudly, hand covering her mouth, the other pointing toward the baboon enclosure. 

Jinsol watches with shocked amusement as Hyejoo starts to imitate the baboons behind the glass. She moves on her knuckles and toes for a moment before standing up and smacking her butt. The kids gathered around her burst into laughter, each joining her in their antics. 

“Well, that’s one way to make friends,” Jinsol mumbles, an easy smile on her lips. 

Yerim cheers on Hyejoo, her voice breaking over the laughter of the kids. 

“That’s my best friend!” 

Hyejoo blushes and drags Yerim away from the group of kids toward their moms. Both Haseul and Jinsol are grinning like fools at the kids. 

“Uh, did you see that?” Hyejoo asks shyly. 

“Oh, we saw it alright,” Sooyoung says. “I think Heejin’s gonna be doing that for weeks now.”

Jiwoo and Jungeun nod in agreement. All the adults staring down at the two kids with the same humorous smiles. 

Hyejoo shifts awkwardly under their gazes, casting her eyes to the ground. Before Jinsol can suggest going to another exhibit, Yerim jumps in cheerfully and says it for her. 

“I wanna go feed goats,” Yerim bends over and parts the curtain of hair covering Hyejoo’s face. “Wanna feed goats, Hye?” 

“Y-yeah, okay.” Hyejoo lets Yerim take her hand and lead her across from them to the goat petting zoo. Jinsol and Haseul follow shortly after saying bye to the other moms who are trying to get their daughters to stop acting like monkeys. 

Haseul’s hand slides down Jinsol’s arm until letting go completely. 

Jinsol misses the contact almost immediately. 

“Yerimie, you need quarters!” Haseul calls to her daughter who’s already walking into the enclosed petting zoo. Yerim comes to the fence, taking the coins Haseul dug out of her pocket. “Share with Hye, okay?” 

“Duh, Mom,” Yerim says and runs off before Haseul can scold her. Yerim rushes over to Hyejoo who is waiting by the food dispensers. A cluster of goats wait by the machines ready to pounce on any unsuspecting zoo-goer. “I got the coins!” 

“Did my mom give you some for me?” 

Yerim shakes her head, “My mom told me to share with you.” 

Hyejoo looks around Yerim to see her mom smiling at her. Her arm linked with Haseul’s again. She smiles back and takes some of the coins from Yerim. 

“I bet I can get more goats to eat from my hand,” Hyejoo says with a sly grin. She cranks the coins in the machine and gets a handful of grain for the goats. They immediately flock to her, vying for her attention. 

“What do I get when I win?” Yerim holds her handful of grain out of the goat's reach. They bleat in frustration around her. 

“ _ If  _ you win, you can have the candy my mom packs me with lunch for a week,” Hyejoo offers. 

“If  _ you  _ win, I’ll bake those cupcakes for you that you liked the last time you stayed at my house.”

“Your mom made those.” 

“Okay, and? You won’t get them anyway, because you’re gonna lose,” Yerim sticks her tongue out, accidentally lowering her hand with the grain in it. Hyejoo watches as a goat comes up and knocks into Yerim  _ hard,  _ sending the girl to the ground. Grain scatters around them and Hyejoo uses the opportunity to get more goats to eat from her hand. 

“I win,” Hyejoo smirks. 

“That’s not fair,” Yerim whines as she pushes herself up. 

“Yerim, you okay?” Jinsol calls from the edge of the petting zoo. Yerim sends her a thumbs up and a smile to her mom, who also looks concerned. 

“I can’t wait to eat those cupcakes,” Hyejoo laughs as another goat comes up to get grain from her hand. The goat hits her hand a little forcefully and Hyejoo loses her balance when she steps back. She falls on her butt, looking up at a laughing Yerim. 

“Hyejoo, are  _ you _ okay?” Haseul asks, Jinsol standing next to her with an equally worried look. 

“I don’t like goats,” Hyejoo grumbles, taking the hand Yerim offers her. They walk over to their moms who are dotting on them the moment they cross through the gate from the petting zoo. 

“Maybe the deer will be more forgiving,” Jinsol says, pointing toward the forest. 

“Do we have to feed them too?” Yerim asks hesitantly. “They’re bigger than goats.”

“They’re nicer than the goats,” Haseul offers. “They were the last time I came here, anyway.”

Hyejoo and Yerim exchange weary glances before shaking their heads. Neither wanting to get bowled over by an animal that’s more than twice the size of the goats. Jinsol doesn’t fault them, those goats really are ruthless for the food. 

She places a kiss on Hyejoo’s head and lets her daughter and Yerim lead them to the animals they’d like to see next. They walk more slowly this time, their energy seemingly depleting more and more as the day progresses. Jinsol is thankful, she isn’t sure she could have kept up with them if they continued rushing around the place. 

“I don’t think Yerim’s had a friend like Hyejoo before,” Haseul says offhandedly. They’re giving the two kids space as they watch the elephants walk through their enclosure. “Most of the friends she brings home take advantage of her niceness. Boss her around and all that. Hyejoo doesn’t do that.” 

“No? That makes me happy to know,” Jinsol smiles. Hyejoo laughs hard at Yerim mimicking the elephant, following her friends’ lead a moment later. They giggle together with Hyejoo tossing her arm over Yerim’s shoulder. 

“Hyejoo challenges her, doesn’t treat her like she’s fragile or too nice,” Haseul looks up to Jinsol with a softness in her eyes. “I had my doubts about you as a parent at first—” 

“Excuse me?” Jinsol is taken aback, having half a mind to pull away from Haseul. But her hand keeps Jinsol in place. 

“Shut up, and let me finish,” Haseul laughs. “Not a lot of people move around like you do, not unless they’re army brats or something. I thought you weren’t going to be as kind, thoughtful, or a good mother, and I was so incredibly wrong. I shouldn’t have judged you without knowing who you were first. Hyejoo is so lucky to have a mom like you, Jinsol. You are unabashedly yourself, you follow your heart and your head, and you teach Hyejoo to do the same. The bond you two have is beautiful, and I’m happy to have you both in mine and Yerim’s lives.” 

“Oh,” Jinsol whispers, a lump forming in her throat. She blinks rapidly, tearing her eyes away from Haseul’s not wanting the woman to see the tears in her eyes. Her eyes land on Hyejoo who’s trying to pick Yerim up so she can see over the barrier in front of the red lemur enclosure. “She is great, isn’t she? Yerim is a good friend to her, she brings Hye out of her shell. It’s not easy for her to make friends, no matter how many times we move.”

“They clicked immediately.” 

“They did,” Jinsol sighs. A new lump forming, but this time it’s not a wistful kind of tearful. This time it’s one that eats away at her. Maison has been a welcoming town, more than most, and Hyejoo has found a place in it. So quickly, so readily. She’s happy, and Jinsol isn’t sure she can pull her daughter away from this place. But Jinsol’s not sure she can stay either. 

“Hey, you okay?” Haseul asks, stepping into Jinsol’s line of sight. When Jinsol looks at her, Haseul can see the faintest trace of something flicker through her eyes before it’s gone. 

“Yeah, yeah, just thinking about how much Hyejoo has grown,” Jinsol waves Haseul off. 

“Are you su—”

“Moms!” Hyejoo yells, drawing their attention to their kids behind them. “Can we go on that?” Her and Yerim point up to the gondolas slowly moving above their head through the park.

Jinsol spots the ride just a few feet away, a staff member manning the controls. Several other groups of students climb swiftly aboard the gondolas before drifting high up into the air. They walk over to the ride as a group, Hyejoo and Yerim leading the charge. 

“Please, please, please,” Yerim begs, eyes wide. 

“Yeah, Moms, please!” Hyejoo pouts. 

Jinsol and Haseul exchange glances. 

“Oh, I dunno,” Haseul mutters, paling at the idea of going that high up. Jinsol notices this and takes her hand with a tight squeeze. 

“You said you wanted to go on adventures, right?” Jinsol says, recalling a late night conversation. “This is a step in the right direction.

“It’s an adventure, let it happen,” Hyejoo says with a smile. 

“Put your best foot forward and try, Mom,” Yerim adds, putting her foot out and Hyejoo copies her. Jinsol knows her daughter definitely taught her that one. 

Jinsol shoots Haseul a reassuring smile and adds her foot to Yerim and Hyejoo’s grouping. “I’ll be next to you the whole time.” 

“Promise?” 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jinsol nods firmly. Haseul stares deeply into her eyes for a moment, unwavering and searching. She must find what she’s looking for when she relaxes and slides her foot into the mix. 

Hyejoo and Yerim cheer, clambering over each other to get on the ride. Jinsol is still trapped in the depths of Haseul’s eyes, not quite sure what to call the feeling stirring up inside her, but knowing it’s different. New. Entirely frightening. 

“You make a lovely family,” the staff member says when she lifts the bar for them to get onto their own two seater gondola. 

Neither can protest before they’re lifted up into the air. Any discomfort from the statement disappears when Haseul takes her hand, intertwining their fingers, and settling her head against her shoulder. 

Jinsol thinks that being mistaken as a family isn’t the worst thing to happen. 

* * *

There’s something magnetic about Haseul. Jinsol can’t deny that anymore. She has spent the whole day with the woman at the zoo yet the idea of leaving her leaves her breathless, and not in a good way. She’s quick to invite Haseul and Yerim over for dinner. It is a Friday night after all, so they would be having a sleepover anyway. 

They’d originally agreed that maybe they wouldn’t have one this weekend, just because the girls would’ve been together all day playing. But Haseul had been quick to say yes, and Yerim and Hyejoo were not going to object to a sleepover. 

Jinsol had ordered a quick take out and the girls scrambled off to Hyejoo’s room to eat and play video games. Neither Haseul or Jinsol cared to stop them. They had settled on the couch and watched a movie as they ate, only talking occasionally, trying to get their energy back. 

Haseul sighs, dropping the now empty Chinese take-out container on the coffee table. The credits to the movie scroll on the TV. Faint background music flits from the speakers. Flickering light casts occasional shadows across the two women. 

Jinsol watches Haseul carefully out of the corner of her eyes. She’s a few glasses of wine deep, as both of them usually are during these sleepovers. Her eyes rake over Haseul’s body as the woman lounges on the couch, her legs curled up underneath her. Jinsol would like to blame the thoughts she’s having on the wine, but she knows even sober her has these thoughts, too. 

They’re not risque thoughts, nothing beyond a kiss really. But those kinds of thoughts are scattered about the ones where Haseul comes home to Jinsol and the girls playing games. Thoughts of family dinners and nights snuggled together in bed. Thoughts of parent teacher conferences together and flipping a coin to see who has to take chaperoning duty. 

These kinds of thoughts have never once surfaced in her life. Not when she was in college, not when she tried to date when Hyejoo was a toddler. Nothing like this has ever come into her head before. If it weren’t for the wine, Jinsol is positive she would have left the room by now. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Haseul takes a sip of wine, raising a brow. 

“Like what?” Jinsol shakes her head, refocusing her gaze on Haseul.

Haseul shrugs, “like you have something you want to say.” 

There’s a lot Jinsol wants to say. She opts to take a swing of her own wine. 

“You know, you’ve never told me why you picked Maison as the town to move to,” Haseul says, shifting on the couch. Jinsol is acutely aware of every inch that’s between them. “Not many people choose to move to such a tiny town.”

“I’m not like many people,” Jinsol’s lips curl into a wry smile. 

“Fair point, many people aren’t as annoying.” Jinsol glares at Haseul who simply sticks her tongue out. “But really, why here?” 

“Hyejoo picked it, actually,” Jinsol says after a contemplative pause. “We have this game when we’re traveling. One of us picks the state, the other picks the town. She liked the sound of the town name. She said it sounded ‘fancy.’”

Haseul laughs, “Sounds like her.” 

“We’d just come from a big city, it was hectic and fast paced, I think she wanted to slow down for a bit,” Jinsol adds. Any barriers she once felt with Haseul long gone. “She’s a bright kid, she knows a lot more than she ever truly lets on. Honestly, she’s taught me a lot about myself.”

“Like what?” Haseul settles against the cushion of the couch. She flashes Jinsol an intrigued grin. 

“Like…” Jinsol thinks back on the conversation she had with Hyejoo at the zoo. Her daughter has more insight on how Jinsol has been feeling than she had on her own. “She feels with abandon. I swear, that girl is so open with how she feels, and she’s quick to call me on how I’m feeling, or asking me. I’ve always taught her to speak on her emotions, I forget to do the same sometimes. I’m more worried about her than I am about myself. She reminds me, and teaches me daily, to be open. To feel things, even when they’re scary.”

“Yerim calls me on that, too,” Haseul smiles. “Kids pick up on a lot more than we adults ever give them credit for.”

Jinsol raises her glass in agreement, taking a long sip of the red wine. When she opens her eyes she sees Haseul staring at her with dark, hooded eyes. Jinsol’s heart hammers against her ribs under the intensity of the gaze. 

“You’ve got something—” Haseul whispers, setting her glass down and leaning across the gap. The pad of her thumb brushes ever so lightly against Jinsol’s lips, lingering for just a moment. Their eyes are locked, tension rising between them. 

Jinsol’s never understood what breathless desire means. She’s heard it in shows, read it in books, but never quite understood how something could even exist; how it could feel. But with Haseul’s gaze on her now, with her face merely inches away, Jinsol gets it. Like all the air has been sucked out of her and all she has is the sound of her heartbeat and the undeniable urge to touch Haseul. 

“I really want to kiss you,” Haseul whispers delicately, not wanting to shatter this moment; this feeling. 

“So kiss me,” Jinsol states simply, confidently. That’s all it takes for Haseul to lean forward and capture her lips. 

Jinsol falls into the kiss. She’s never felt anything like this before in her life. It’s electric, sending sparks through her body. Awakening every nerve ending she has. She’s free falling, breathless, clinging desperately to Haseul’s arms. 

Even with all the drinks, Jinsol knows this is exactly what she wants. . Those missing pieces, the things Jinsol thinks she may have been searching for this whole time slide into place with a click. All those thoughts of domesticity and love, Jinsol wants  _ that _ . She wants that with Haseul

That though alone, that mere revelation is enough to send her reeling. 

Jinsol pushes against Haseul, pulling away from the kiss. Panic rising in her.

“I’m sorry, was that not—” Haseul stammers as she tries to catch her breath. 

“I think we should go to bed,” Jinsol’s curt, cold, and Haseul recoils at the sound. 

“Jinsol, wait—” she reaches out but Jinsol brushes past her. Haseul can’t wrap her head around what just happened. She worries she crossed a line that she hadn’t realized was there. 

“Goodnight, Haseul.” Jinsol scurries down the hallway to her room, closing the door behind her. She presses her back against the door, and gingerly lifts her fingers to her lips. Haseul’s wine soaked kiss lingers on her lips, mixing with the tears that trail down her face. 

Jinsol should’ve just stayed away.

* * *

Jinsol keeps her distance after that night. Dropping Hyejoo off at school and Haseul’s with very little interaction. Haseul tries though, on more than one occasion to get Jinsol to talk to her. At the very least, so she can apologize for crossing the line that night and kissing her. But Jinsol isn’t having it. 

She’s curt in her responses. Cold with her looks. Haseul barely recognizes her as the woman she’s been friends with the past couple months. Jinsol has lame excuse after lame excuse. 

Work. Sick. Work. Tired. On repeat until Haseul simply stops asking to come in, stops trying to call her to catch up, stops looking at her in general. She drops Yerim off at the door of Jinsol’s apartment every other weekend without so much as a glance at the black haired woman in the doorway. 

It’s what Jinsol had wanted. That distance so she can make a clean break when they leave. Better to hurt Haseul now than lead her on further and further until one day Jinsol and Hyejoo are simply gone. 

Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt her any less. 

Doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss laughing with Haseul over a bottle of wine and shitty movies. She finds herself envious of Hyejoo and Yerim’s friendship more often than not. The carefree laughter that bubbles out from the hallway, spilling into her ears like bees. It stings. Jinsol is well aware that what she’s feeling now is nothing short of what Hyejoo is going to feel when she loses her best friend. 

But this is what they do. They do it for the adventures, for the fun, for the fear of getting hurt. Yet, here Jinsol is hurting and she’s going to hurt Hyejoo, too. 

This is why they leave. 

Jinsol walks past the cracked door of Hyejoo’s room, intending on going to her own to lay down. She hears her daughter and Yerim whispering to each other. 

“Your mom is making mine sad,” Yerim says. 

“I don’t know why,” Hyejoo sighs. “I thought we finally got them to be friends.”

“We’re friends though, right?” Yerim says after a pause. 

“Best friends.” They both giggle. “Sorry my mom is being a butt.”

“It’s okay. Wanna play Mario Kart again?” 

Jinsol’s heart is heavy when she walks away from the door and flops onto her bed. Even her daughter and Yerim know something is wrong. She’s not sure if that says a lot or not, purely because the two girls are so observant and caring. But to know Haseul is upset because of her...to really know that concretely instead of assuming it based on her body language. 

It punches her in the gut and Jinsol _ hates _ it. 

That doesn’t mean she’s going to do a damn thing about it. 

  
  


It’s the last weekend before Thanksgiving break and Haseul is dropping Yerim off at Jinsol’s again. They haven’t spoken a word to each other since that night. Well, more like Haseul’s spoken words and Jinsol has gracefully avoided them. It hasn’t been easy to keep it up. Not with the forlorn looks from Haseul and the withering glares from Yerim. Even Hyejoo has taken up scolding her mom for her behavior. 

Jinsol isn’t sure how often she’s been on the receiving end of Hyejoo telling her to stop being a butthead and talk to Haseul, but it’s been a handful of times. Her eight year old is telling her to grow up and she’s still gonna stick her fingers in her ears. 

Unfortunately, when Haseul drops Yerim off that night, Hyejoo is the one that answers the door. 

“Hi Haseul!” Hyejoo smiles and takes the woman’s hand, pulling her into the apartment. 

“Hye, I don’t think your mom wants me inside,” Haseul rubs the back of her neck, peering around the corner for Jinsol. 

Hyejoo shrugs, “Maybe, but I wanted to say goodbye.” 

“Goodbye? We’re only going to be gone for a few days, sweetie,” Haseul tilts her head. Hyejoo doesn’t bother to clarify, instead wrapping her arms around her waist in a tight embrace. Haseul hugs her, patting her on the back while Yerim looks on in equal confusion. 

“Hye? Who’s at the—oh,” Jinsol stops in her tracks, wet hair hanging over her shoulders. “I told you not to open the door without me.”

“You told me not to open the door for strangers,” Hyejoo corrects with sass. “And Haseul isn’t a stranger. To  _ me _ . Come on, Yerim.”

Hyejoo pushes past Jinsol, leaving her mom stunned in the hallway watching her go. It’s been happening a lot lately. A lot more since Jinsol told her they were going to be leaving over the break and moving to a new town. Hyejoo had thrown an absolute fit. Tears, screaming, begging, but Jinsol told her it was for the best. She’d gotten a new job and they needed to move. Her daughter has been giving her the cold shoulder ever since. Short responses. Dark glares. Never in their lives together has Jinsol been on the receiving end of Hyejoo’s anger. Not this prolonged anyway. It’s been a week of this, and Jinsol thinks the fissures in her heart get bigger and bigger with each passing day. 

She thought pushing Haseul away hurt. Being pushed away by Hyejoo hurts more. 

“That’s new,” Haseul says. Jinsol’s head shoots up, meeting Haseul’s hesitant gaze. 

“She’s upset with me right now, it’ll pass,” Jinsol sighs, crossing her arms over her chest.

There’s a long pause. Jinsol’s kind of hoping Haseul will take the cue to leave. She doesn’t, instead she walks forward, pushing into Jinsol’s space with determination. Jinsol’s breath catches in her throat. 

“You know, I thought it would pass with you, too. Your silence, your unwillingness to even hear me out. I honestly doubt we would be talking at all if Hyejoo didn’t invite me in,” Haseul says, a storm brewing behind her eyes. 

“That’s probably why she let you in,” Jinsol glances over her shoulder at the cracked door to her daughter’s room. “We should talk in my room. They’re probably listening.” 

She turns without another word and walks toward her room. Hyejoo’s door conveniently shuts as they pass. 

When Haseul enters behind her and shuts the door, Jinsol sweeps her arms open gesturing to her to speak. 

“You clearly have things you want to say, go ahead.” 

Haseul groans, hand tugging as she slides them through her hair. “That, that’s what I want to talk about. Why are you acting like this?”

“I just think we don’t make good friends,” Jinsol forces herself to say. The words are acid on her tongue. When she swallows, the burning sensation spreads through her body. It only intensifies when she sees the pain etched messily on Haseul’s face. 

“You're a worse liar than the fifth graders I work with, Jinsol. That’s not the real reason and we both know it,” Haseul steps closer. She points at Jinsol, hand shaking. “You’re running away after we kissed instead of talking to me about it like a damn adult.”

“We don’t need to talk about it. We kissed, that’s the end of that.”

“No, we kissed and you ran away. Then you pushed me away. Stop acting like we’re in high school and start talking to me,” Haseul’s voice breaks at the end. The coarse whisper lingers in the air. 

They stand there so closely, Jinsol can feel Haseul’s body shaking. She desperately wants to reach out and hold her. Apologize for what she did and explain. Jinsol wants to fall again, but she knows she can’t. She won’t let herself. 

Haseul takes a deep breath, “I’m sorry if I pushed you too far that night, or kissed you when you didn’t want it. I just thought—”

“You didn’t,” Jinsol breathes. Barely audible, but Haseul hears it.

“What?” She looks at her wide eyed. 

“I wanted you to kiss me,” Jinsol fixes her eyes on the picture of Hyejoo and her at the Han Dong Zoo. 

“Then what? Why are you giving me the cold shoulder? I thought we were at least friends.” Haseul’s voice is soft, fragile, and Jinsol knows that no matter how delicately she handles this, whatever is between them is going to break. “I had hoped that maybe we—”

Jinsol shakes her head slowly, forcing herself to look at Haseul when she speaks. “Our daughters are friends, Haseul, we aren’t. We had some wine, we talked, and yes, we kissed, but it meant nothing. You're my daughter’s best friend’s Mom. That’s it. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but—”

Haseul holds up her hand, her breath shallow, eyes tightly closed. “Stop, you don’t need to sugar coat it for me. I get it.”

“Haseul…” Jinsol can see her trying to hide her tears, trying to mask what she’s feeling. If Jinsol herself hadn’t been such an expert at doing that herself, she would’ve missed it entirely. 

“I’ll see you in the morning when I pick up Yerim.” Haseul stares at Jinsol for a moment, eyes glassy and distant. 

Jinsol thinks she’s waiting for her to take it back, to yell Gotcha as if this is some elaborate prank. She almost wishes it is. There’s still time to turn it around, to change her plans, to follow her heart just this once instead of running away. She’s always running away. Jinsol can’t commit to a town let alone another person. So, she watches with bated breath as Haseul opens the door, casting one last look over her shoulder before leaving. 

The sound of the front door shutting is Jinsol’s cue to fall apart. She gives herself ten minutes of chest aching sobs before pulling herself together. There are two girls in the apartment that need dinner and there’s plenty of packing she can do. Life doesn’t wait for anyone, and it won’t wait for her while she breaks down. 

When Haseul comes to pick up Yerim in the morning, Jinsol is nowhere to be seen. Though she’s certain Jinsol is just hiding around the corner. 

Hyejoo and Yerim are clinging to each other as they cry. Neither willing to let go of the other no matter how much Haseul tries to pry them apart. It takes more than a handful of minutes before Haseul is finally in her car with her daughter. 

“We’ll be back, Yerimie,” Haseul tries to soothe her crying daughter. “You’ll see Hyejoo again.”

“What if I don’t?” Yerim sniffles as she looks sadly up at the fading apartment complex. 

“We’re only going on break for a few days,” Haseul looks into the rearview mirror, catching a glimpse of Yerim. In her lap sits a ratty old wolf plushie, and Haseul knows for certain it’s one of Hyejoo’s. 

Yerim doesn’t say anything else. Her hand running over the matted grey fur of the wolf, tears trailing down her face. Haseul drives on, trying to hold in her own tears. 

  
  


Back inside the apartment, Hyejoo turns the corner and glares at her mom. Jinsol takes a deep breath and stops her from stomping back to her room. 

“Hyejoo, I know how happy you are here in Maison, but this will be good for us,” Jinsol tries to smile. Even she knows it falls short. “We get to see what the world has to offer.”

Hyejoo studies her face for a minute, her anger falling away. “You were happy here, too, Mommy.” 

“I—For a little while, I was, but I think this move will be good for us. I need you to trust me,” Jinsol pleads. She’s not sure if she’s pleading to Hyejoo or herself. Either way, she needs to believe this will be good for them. It has to be. 

“Fine, but I’m still upset,” Hyejoo huffs, crossing her arms. “I want ice cream for dinner.”

“Deal.”

“Tonight and tomorrow and the next day,” Hyejoo glares at her mom. 

“Tonight and for lunch tomorrow,” Jinsol offers, extending her hand to her daughter. 

“Okay,” Hyejoo nods, “but it doesn’t make me any less sad.”

“I know, baby, I’m sorry,” Jinsol opens her arms and Hyejoo falls into them with ease. She hugs her daughter close to her chest, hoping to use that love to mend her own heart. It has always been enough before, but this time Jinsol doesn’t think it’ll fix it. 

When she tries to fall asleep that night, her brain plays a supercut of their time in Maison. A montage of all the good times. Of all the smiles Haseul sent her way. Of the wine stained lips that kissed her. But the images of Haseul’s teary eyes as she walked away, that is what’s burned into Jinsol’s mind. 

Next to her, Hyejoo sleeps fitfully. She had come into her room a while ago crying. Jinsol is breaking both of their hearts right now. She just hopes she’s making the right choice. 

* * *

Yerim hasn’t stopped crying since they left the Jung’s the other day. The kid is like a leaky faucet. Haseul can’t seem to make her stop or comfort her in anyway. She is adamant that she will never see Hyejoo again, and Haseul takes it into her own hands to prove that it’ll be okay. 

They leave their house a few days later on the morning of Thanksgiving just a little earlier than usual to stop at their apartment. Haseul knows Jinsol won’t want to join them at Jiwoo’s house, but maybe she’ll let Hyejoo come along. Or, at the very least, prove that Yerim has no reason to be this broken up about missing her friend. 

Haseul had tried to call Jinsol multiple times. Each one being sent directly to voicemail. Unsurprisingly. 

“She’s not gonna be there,” Yerim whispers when they reach the familiar apartment door. 

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be,” Haseul smiles softly at her daughter. She knocks on the door, the sound echoing through the empty hallway. Normally, the door would swing open in a few seconds, but this time the silence goes on. “They must not have heard us.” 

She knocks again. 

Again, she’s met with silence. 

“I told you.”

“Maybe they’ve gone out for the day,” Haseul says hopefully. She’s not sure for whose benefit she says it for, but it doesn’t give either of them any reassurance. She knocks one last time, “Jinsol, Hyejoo?”

Silence once more. Haseul drops her hand limply by her side and looks to her daughter. Fresh tears well in Yerim’s eye. 

The elevator at the end of the hall dings, both of them turn toward the sound. A young couple walk out of the doors and look at them. 

“Are you looking for Jinsol?” one of them asks. Haseul only nods. “I’m sorry, Miss, they moved out the other day. Not sure where they went though.”

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Haseul swallows thickly. The couple smiles and wishes them a happy holiday before walking into their apartment across the hall. Yerim bursts into tears again, repeating over and over that she told her mom that Hyejoo is gone. All Haseul can do is sweep her daughter into her arms and hug her tightly, a few of her own tears escaping. 

  
  


Several towns over, in Cavas City, Jinsol and Hyejoo are trying to settle into their new life. Jinsol has Hyejoo enrolled in a new elite school. She has her assignment from a new publisher. The apartment is all set up and comfortable to live in. Everything is seemingly falling into place. But nothing feels  _ right _ . 

None of the wacky pit stops they made on the way to the city brought any genuine happiness from either of them. It’s the first picture Jinsol is unwilling to hang up on the wall. Neither of them look happy to be there, their smiles barely reaching their eyes. 

Hyejoo speaks to her in short bursts, and even then it’s mostly about trivial things. Or to tell Jinsol once again how upset she is with her. 

Jinsol’s upset with herself, too. 

She’s flighty. Doesn’t dare to stay in one place too long because of it. She even broke her own promise to Hyejoo that they’d stay in towns for half the year. They left well before Christmas break. Her daughter’s anger is justified. Her sadness, valid. Everything that Hyejoo is feeling about this move and toward her mom, Jinsol is feeling it, too. 

They try to break into their routines. Ice cream dates on Friday’s. Movie nights on the weekend. Jinsol even tries to teach Hyejoo how to cook during the week to fill the void. 

It goes on like this for weeks. Jinsol drags Hyejoo to another event, park, museum, anything to get her daughter’s mind off of Maison. She fills their days with activities and love. Maybe she’s over doing. Maybe she’s being overbearing now. But when Hyejoo climbs in the car after school it’s just silence. While she does her homework, she doesn’t chat to her mom about her day. When they’re on another adventure, Hyejoo isn’t forging forward with a mischievous smile and a devil may care attitude. 

The spark that had once been there is long gone and it’s all Jinsol’s fault. 

“Hye, come on, it’s time for dinner,” Jinsol calls one December night. It’s snowing heavily outside and school has been cancelled for the next day already. 

“Not hungry,” Hyejoo grumbles from the couch in the living room. Jinsol peers over and finds her daughter laying face first in the couch cushions. 

“You’ve been saying that every night and you still eat,” Jinsol says walking over to the couch. She kneels next to Hyejoo, rubbing her back in slow motions. “What’s going on?”

Hyejoo huffs and turns her head to look at her mom. “I’m upset with you.”

“Okay, what are you upset with me about?” Jinsol continues the slow circles on Hyejoo’s back. Behind them, cartoons play quietly on the TV. 

“For making us move,” Hyejoo says it like it’s the most obvious answer and it is. Jinsol can’t deny that. 

“You know we had to for my job—”

“But you can do your job from anywhere. Why did we move to this stupid city?” Hyejoo pushes her mom’s hand off her as she sits up. “We were happy there, Mom. I  _ know _ you were happy in Maison.”

“Sometimes it’s not about what makes us happy,” Jinsol sighs, pushing her hair out of her face, just to have something to do with her hands. “Being an adult means having to choose the right thing, even if it means giving up being happy. ”

“I don’t understand, Mom. Why can’t the right thing be what makes us happy?” Hyejoo whispers, eyes shining with tears.

“Life isn’t always fair. We can’t always get what we want, Hyejoo.” A lump rises in Jinsol’s throat looking at how distraught her daughter is. It pains her to sit here and to pretend like the reason they left Maison wasn’t for purely selfish reasons. Jinsol was running away, like she always does, but this time Hyejoo got caught in the crossfire. 

“I miss Yerim,” Hyejoo cries. “I miss my best friend. I miss the cupcakes Haseul would make us on the weekend and the ping-pong tables at Rosy Day. I miss my friends. And Miss Yoohyeon. I hate this stupid private school and their ugly uniforms and their cafeterias that don’t even have warm cookies. I _hate_ _it_ here.”

“I’m—” Jinsol starts to apologize, to try to take that pain away from her daughter. She wants to hold her close and protect her from everything. But she’s the reason Hyejoo is hurting. How can she protect her daughter from herself? 

Tears slide down her face, mirroring Hyejoo. 

“You’re sad, Mommy.” 

“So are you, baby.” Jinsol gulps and brushes Hyejoo’s tears away, then her own. “Why don’t we build a blanket fort and watch a movie? Maybe make some ice cream sundaes after we have dinner. To cheer you up.”

Jinsol forces a smile and Hyejoo looks back at her, sadness quickly morphing into anger. 

“I won’t cheer up! I don’t want to cheer up!” Hyejoo yells, ripping herself away from her mom. Jinsol stands back astonished. “I didn’t want to move, I didn’t want to lose Yerim. I—I liked Maison. And you broke your promise.”

“I know, Hyejoo, I said we’d stay until after Christmas but—”

“ _ No! _ You  _ pinky promised _ we’d never move that soon. You made us sad, Mommy.” Hyejoo shakes her head furiously, tiny hands balled into fists by her sides. Jinsol tries to approach her, to calm her down, but Hyejoo stops her. “Can I have space? You always told me that when I’m upset I can have space.”

“You need to eat dinner,” Jinsol says weakly. 

“I’ll eat in my room,” Hyejoo stares at her mom, unwavering. “You told me that you’d give me space when I asked.” 

“I—” Jinsol sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. She had taught Hyejoo that. She tells her that all the time. Respecting her daughter’s emotional boundaries is important, but she also hates so much her chest hurts at the thought of letting Hyejoo walk away from her right now. “Okay, but the door stays open, and we check in before you go to bed.”

“We don’t go to bed angry,” Hyejoo says, reiterating a motto Jinsol uses often. 

“I love you,” Jinsol says, passing Hyejoo a plate of food. 

“I love you, Mommy.” Hyejoo’s eyes soften just a bit before she takes her plate to her room. 

True to their agreement, Hyejoo slides into her bed that night before either of them go to sleep. She curls against Jinsol’s side, hands grasping at her shirt. 

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Hyejoo whispers. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you a say in the move.” Jinsol holds Hyejoo tighter, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “I never meant to make you sad.”

“You’re sad, too.” Hyejoo points out, keenly aware of her mom’s emotions as always. Their connection has been this deep since the very beginning. “Do you miss Haseul?”

“I do,” Jinsol admits with a heavy sigh. Hiding the truth from her daughter hasn’t done her any good this far, there’s no point in hiding it now. 

“I miss Yerim,” Hyejoo whimpers, burying her head into her mom’s chest. 

They fall asleep like that, held tightly together by each other. 

* * *

New Years Eve and Haseul is bringing a very sleepy Yerim back to their house. They had spent part of the night at Sooyoung’s house with the other mom’s in their friend group. Their kids get along well enough, but Haseul could tell Yerim’s heart hadn’t been in it. 

It had been easy enough to get out of the party. They’d all seen the after effect of Jinsol and Hyejoo moving out of town. The sunny mother and daughter duo had rarely smiled like they once did. They had tried their best to be okay, to not let the sting of the abrupt departure hurt them beyond repair. But there is an empty hole in their lives now. Both had grown so used to the routine that Jinsol and Hyejoo brought them that losing it made them falter. 

The past month has not been easy. Haseul is doing her best to keep herself and her daughter happy. To keep moving forward as if the Jungs had been just a blip in their life. 

It’s clear to them and anyone else that they had a lasting impact on them. 

They started to go on weekend adventures. Small ones at first. To the beach, an amusement park, to the second largest lobster statue a few towns over.

Jinsol had that effect on her. She gave her a taste of a fast paced life full of color and adventure and Haseul wants to give that to Yerim. Show her that life is a wild, wild ride, and to accept the curveballs it might throw in her direction. 

Even with all the day trips and random overnight stays, there had still been an emptiness neither of them could shake. They both knew that it would have been more fun with Jinsol and Hyejoo. 

The same can be said about the New Years Eve party. Maybe that’s why they leave early. No matter what they do, they can’t forget the adventurous duo. 

“Mom? Are we home yet?” Yerim yawns from the back seat. 

“Yeah, we’re pulling up right now,” Haseul shoots her a smile over her shoulder. The headlights of their car illuminate the road before arching over their driveway. Something catches Haseul’s eyes. “What the—”

“Snowmen!” Yerim unbuckles quickly the moment the car shifts into park and dashes out the door. 

Sitting on their front lawn, surrounded by solar-powered lights, are four snowmen. Each one taller than the next. The shortest has a purple beanie on its head, the next grey, then green, and lastly blue. It clicks immediately in Haseul’s head. 

“My favorite color! This one must be me,” Yerim says excitedly. “And Hyejoo loves grey and you like green, right?”

Haseul can only nod mutely. 

“Does that mean the tall one is Jinsol?” Yerim tilts her head to look at her mom. 

“Yeah, I think it is,” Haseul whispers. She glances up to their front door where she notices a paper fluttering in the wind. Yerim rushes past her, clearly seeing it, too. 

“It’s like a treasure hunt, Mom! Do you think—” Yerim takes the paper off the door, “—Do you think this means they’re back?” 

Taking the paper from Yerim’s hand, she steals herself for what the note may say. Her eyes scan the note, brows furrowed. 

“What does it say?”

“Come to the Lunar Hotel, room 712. J and H.” Haseul reads to her daughter. Yerim’s eyes light up immediately. 

“It has to be them,” Yerim nods firmly. She takes her mom’s hand and pulls her toward the car. “Come on, come on, we can’t make them wait any longer!” 

Haseul climbs back into the car and as soon as Yerim is buckled in, she takes off for the edge of town to the Lunar hotel. 

Yerim bounces in her seat, excitement oozing out of her. She can’t wait to see her best friend again and tell her about everything that’s been happening. She doesn’t care anymore that they left, that she’s been sad, because Hyejoo came back. That’s all that matters to her right now. 

But her mom doesn’t share that same thought. Her mind is reeling with questions and things she wants to say to Jinsol. Part of her kind of wants to smack the woman, but knows that’s not exactly going to set a good example for their kids. Still, Haseul isn’t as ecstatic as her daughter. Though, she also can’t lie to herself. She has missed Jinsol more than she wants to admit and that’s evident in the rapid thundering of her heart at the mere thought of seeing her again. 

  
  


It happens in slow motion for Jinsol. 

Her and Hyejoo are sitting on the couch in the hotel suite, watching the flames dance in the fireplace next to their fake Christmas tree. It didn't take much after their fight in Cavas City to realize they needed to come back to Maison. They had the whole thing planned. From the snowmen to the note all the way to the presents that wait for Haseul and Yerim. They’ve just settled on the couch when there's a knock at the door. 

Hyejoo bolts out of her seat, swinging the door open with fervor. 

There’s squealing and yelling. Hyejoo and Yerim are wrapped in a tight embrace jumping up and down. The smile on her daughter’s face stretches from ear to ear. She remembers that one; she’s missed it. And to think she’s the one that caused it to disappear for too long. 

Yerim greets Jinsol with a soft smile, “Hi Just Jinsol.”

“Never thought I’d miss that nickname,” Jinsol smiles. She hugs Yerim quickly before Hyejoo tugs her over to the presents by the tree. It warms her heart seeing the two girls play together and talk so happily. She sees Yerim pull the ratty old wolf plushie Jinsol gave Hyejoo when she was a baby. She had been wondering if they lost it during the move, but this makes much more sense. 

Hyejoo screams and brings it close to her chest, hugging it. 

“Yerim hasn’t let that thing out of her sight since Hyejoo gave it to her,” Haseul says. Jinsol whips around, her heart leaping to her throat. “Hey.”

“H-Hi,” Jinsol gulps. She stands, moving around the couch toward Haseul. “It’s good to see you again…”

“Yeah, you too,” Haseul smiles and Jinsol’s worries wash away. It’s the same smile she once knew. The one Haseul always shot her way. “The snowmen were a nice touch.”

Jinsol holds her hands up, “Can’t take credit for that one. It was all Hyejoo.”

“But it was your idea for the hats!” Hyejoo yells from a few feet away. 

“Still eavesdropping, I see.” 

“Not much has changed,” Jinsol says, turning back to Haseul. She’s looking at Jinsol curiously, as if trying to put all the pieces together. Jinsol’s lip curls on one side, offering Haseul a hesitant half-smile. “Well, some things have changed.”

“Yeah?” Haseul’s heart is beating rapidly in her chest. Not sure if what Jinsol may say next is going to make her or break her all over again. She spares a glance at her daughter who looks happier than she has in weeks. At least there’s that. If someone is going to make it out of her happy, at least it’s the kids. Haseul takes a deep breath, daring to ask the question. “Why’d you leave?”

Jinsol’s smile falls, “I was scared.” 

“So you ran away,” Haseul sighs. She recalls their conversation when they fought, similar words had fallen from her lips then. Jinsol had been running away then, but Haseul never thought she’d actually leave. 

“I came back.” Jinsol’s hand shakes, her voice catching in her throat as she talks. There’s more she wants to say, more she can say, but none of it is coming out. 

A few feet away, Hyejoo and Yerim are giggling over a toy that they unwrapped. They glance toward their moms and then back at each other. Yerim only shrugs, going back to her toy. 

“Why’d you come back, Jinsol?” Haseul asks, holding Jinsol’s gaze. 

“I—” Jinsol starts but shuts her mouth. She what? Jinsol can’t form a coherent sentence. Not one that is good enough to explain away the pain she left the four of them in. Jinsol isn’t even sure there are enough words that would come close to making this right. 

“I googled it,” Hyejoo pipes up, noticing her mom’s distress. She looks at Haseul carefully from her spot beside Yerim. “Maison is French. It means home.” 

She grins brightly and then turns back to Yerim as if she didn’t just save her mom from looking like an idiot. 

Haseul is staring at Jinsol in confusion.“Maison means home, yeah, but what does that have to do with us?” 

Jinsol’s smile widens and she can only mentally thank Hyejoo for giving her the words she needed for it all to make sense. She steps toward Haseul slowly with each word. 

“It’s home. This—” Jinsol gestures around them, between them, “—is home. I told you once it takes a lot for me to stay in one place. Turns out, it really only took meeting you and Yerim. It took falling in love with you, Haseul.”

“Kids,” Haseul calls, her eyes locked onto Jinsol’s. “Close your eyes.”

“What—why?” Yerim asks. 

“Just do it, sweetie.” 

“Haseul, what are you—” Jinsol gasps softly when Haseul’s hands gently grab her face. She peers to the side and sees both Hyejoo and Yerim have their backs turned to them. “Haseul?”

“I really want to kiss you,” Haseul says, repeating the same words she said before. “I  _ really _ don’t want you running off this time.”

“I won’t, I’m staying right here with you.” Jinsol whispers. “Kiss me.” 

This time, when their lips meet, it’s not wine soaked and passion fueled. It’s slow, intentional, and full of promise. It’s everything it should have been the first time, but it means so much more now. 

In the distance, fireworks crackle and people cheer as the clock strikes midnight. Jinsol pulls back from the kiss, a sweet smile on her lips. She calls the girls over and pulls them all in close.

“Let’s start the new year by putting our best foot forward,” Jinsol says, giving each of them a meaningful look as she puts her foot out. Hyejoo grins and places her foot in the center of their huddle, joining her mom. Yerim follows after her, giggling.

“Best foot forward,” Haseul kisses Jinsol on the cheek. She places her foot in last, and then tugs them all into a group hug.

Jinsol knows there’s more they have to talk about, more they need to work out, but right now, she’s happy. Her daughter is happy. For now, this is enough. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on twitter @/zags96 
> 
> Send me questions or yell to me at https://curiouscat.qa/zags96


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